Title: The Moon Maid
Author: Edgar Rice Burroughs
* A Project Gutenberg of Australia eBook *
eBook No.: 0601501h.html
Language: English
Date first posted: Jun 2006
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WITH TWENTY-TWO ILLUSTRATIONS BY AN UNKNOWN ARTIST

This e-book edition: Project Gutenberg Australia, 2015

Argosy All-Story Weekly, May 5, 1923, with first part of
"The Moon Maid"

BIBLIOGRAPHIC NOTE

The illustrations in this edition of "The Moon Maid"
originally appeared in the Dutch translation published in 22 installments by
the Belgian weekly magazine Story from July 26 to December 20, 1946,
under the title "Ter verovering van een onbekende halfrond" (The Conquest of
an Unknown Hemisphere). The name of the artist could not be determined.
Captions have been added. —RG

Front cover of Story, July 26, 1946, with first part of
"The Moon Maid"

I MET him in the Blue Room of the Transoceanic Liner
Harding the night of Mars Day—June 10, 1967. I had been
wandering about the city for several hours prior to the sailing of the flier
watching the celebration, dropping in at various places that I might see as
much as possible of scenes that doubtless will never again be
paralleled—a world gone mad with joy. There was only one vacant chair
in the Blue Room and that at a small table at which he was already seated
alone. I asked his permission and he graciously invited me to join him,
rising as he did so, his face lighting with a smile that compelled my liking
from the first.

I had thought that Victory Day, which we had celebrated two months before,
could never be eclipsed in point of mad national enthusiasm, but the
announcement that had been made this day appeared to have had even a greater
effect upon the minds and imaginations of the people.

The more than half-century of war that had continued almost
uninterruptedly since 1914 had at last terminated in the absolute domination
of the Anglo-Saxon race over all the other races of the World, and
practically for the first time since the activities of the human race were
preserved for posterity in any enduring form no civilized, or even
semi-civilized, nation maintained a battle line upon any portion of the
globe. War was at an end—definitely and forever. Arms and ammunition
were being dumped into the five oceans; the vast armadas of the air were
being scrapped or converted into carriers for purposes of peace and
commerce.

The peoples of all nations had celebrated—victors and vanquished
alike—for they were tired of war. At least they thought that they were
tired of war; but were they? What else did they know? Only the oldest of men
could recall even a semblance of world peace, the others knew nothing but
war. Men had been born and lived their lives and died with their
grandchildren clustered about them—all with the alarms of war ringing
constantly in their ears. Perchance the little area of their activities was
never actually encroached upon by the iron-shod hoof of battle; but always
somewhere war endured, now receding like the salt tide only to return again;
until there arose that great tidal wave of human emotion in 1959 that swept
the entire world for eight bloody years, and receding, left peace upon a
spent and devastated world.

Two months had passed—two months during which the world appeared to
stand still, to mark time, to hold its breath. What now? We have peace, but
what shall we do with it? The leaders of thought and of action are trained
for but one condition—war. The reaction brought despondency —our
nerves, accustomed to the constant stimulus of excitement, cried out against
the monotony of peace, and yet no one wanted war again. We did not know what
we wanted.

And then came the announcement that I think saved a world from madness,
for it directed our minds along a new line to the contemplation of a fact far
more engrossing than prosaic wars and equally as stimulating to the
imagination and the nerves—intelligible communication had at last been
established with Mars!

Generations of wars had done their part to stimulate scientific research
to the end that we might kill one another more expeditiously, that we might
transport our youth more quickly to their shallow graves in alien soil, that
we might transmit more secretly and with greater celerity our orders to slay
our fellow men. And always, generation after generation, there had been those
few who could detach their minds from the contemplation of massacre and
looking forward to a happier era concentrate their talents and their energies
upon the utilization of scientific achievement for the betterment of mankind
and the rebuilding of civilization.

Among these was that much ridiculed but devoted coterie who had clung
tenaciously to the idea that communication could be established with Mars.
The hope that had been growing for a hundred years had never been permitted
to die, but had been transmitted from teacher to pupil with ever-growing
enthusiasm, while the people scoffed as, a hundred years before, we are told,
they scoffed at the experimenters with flying machines, as they chose to call
them.

About 1940 had come the first reward of long years of toil and hope,
following the perfection of an instrument which accurately indicated the
direction and distance of the focus of any radio-activity with which it might
be attuned. For several years prior to this all the more highly sensitive
receiving instruments had recorded a series of three dots and three dashes
which began at precise intervals of twenty-four hours and thirty-seven
minutes and continued for approximately fifteen minutes. The new instrument
indicated conclusively that these signals, if they were signals, originated
always at the same distance from the Earth and in the same direction as the
point in the universe occupied by the planet Mars.

It was five years later before a sending apparatus was evolved that bade
fair to transmit its waves from Earth to Mars. At first their own message was
repeated—three dots and three dashes. Although the usual interval of
time had not elapsed since we had received their daily signal, ours was
immediately answered. Then we sent a message consisting of five dots and two
dashes, alternating. Immediately they replied with five dots and two dashes
and we knew beyond peradventure of a doubt that we were in communication with
the Red Planet, but it required twenty-two years of unremitting effort, with
the most brilliant intellects of two worlds concentrated upon it, to evolve
and perfect an intelligent system of inter-communication between the two
planets.

Today, this tenth of June, 1967, there was published broadcast to the
world the first message from Mars. It was dated Helium, Barsoom, and merely
extended greetings to a sister world and wished us well. But it was the
beginning.

The Blue Room of the Harding was, I presume, but typical of every
other gathering place in the civilized world. Men and women were eating,
drinking, laughing, singing and talking. The flier was racing through the air
at an altitude of little over a thousand feet. Its engines, motivated
wirelessly from power plants thousands of miles distant, drove it noiselessly
and swiftly along its overnight pathway between Chicago and Paris.

In the Blue Room of the "Harding."

I had of course crossed many times, but this instance was unique because
of the epoch-making occasion which the passengers were celebrating, and so I
sat at the table longer than usual, watching my fellow diners, with, I
imagine, a slightly indulgent smile upon my lips, since—I mention it in
no spirit of egotism—it had been my high privilege to assist in the
consummation of a hundred years of effort that had borne fruit that day. I
looked around at my fellow diners and then back to my table companion.

He was a fine looking chap, lean and bronzed—one need not have noted
the Air Corps overseas service uniform, the Admiral's stars and anchors or
the wound stripes to have guessed that he was a fighting man; he looked it,
every inch of him, and there were a full seventy-two inches.

We talked a little—about the great victory and the message from
Mars, of course, and though he often smiled I noticed an occasional shadow of
sadness in his eyes and once, after a particularly mad outburst of
pandemonium on the part of the celebrators, he shook his head, remarking:
"Poor devils!" and then: "It is just as well—let them enjoy life while
they may. I envy them their ignorance."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He flushed a little and then smiled. "Was I speaking aloud?" he asked.

I repeated what he had said and he looked steadily at me for a long minute
before he spoke again. "Oh, what's the use!" he exclaimed, almost petulantly;
"you wouldn't understand and of course you wouldn't believe. I do not
understand it myself; but I have to believe because I know—I know from
personal observation. God! if you could have seen what I have seen."

"Tell me," I begged; but he shook his head dubiously.

"Do you realize that there is no such thing as Time?" he asked
suddenly—"That man has invented Time to suit the limitations of his
finite mind, just as he has named another thing, that he can neither explain
nor understand, Space?"

"I have heard of such a theory," I replied; "but I neither believe nor
disbelieve—I simply do not know."

I thought I had him started and so I waited as I have read in fiction
stories is the proper way to entice a strange narrative from its possessor.
He was looking beyond me and I imagined that the expression of his eyes
denoted that he was witnessing again the thrilling scenes of the past. I must
have been wrong, though—in fact I was quite sure of it when he next
spoke.

"If that girl isn't careful," he said, "the thing will upset and give her
a nasty fall—she is much too near the edge."

I turned to see a richly dressed and much dishevelled young lady busily
dancing on a table-top while her friends and the surrounding diners cheered
her lustily.

My companion arose. "I have enjoyed your company immensely," he said, "and
I hope to meet you again. I am going to look for a place to sleep now—
they could not give me a stateroom—I don't seem to be able to get
enough sleep since they sent me back." He smiled.

"Miss the gas shells and radio bombs, I suppose," I remarked.

"Yes," he replied, "just as a convalescent misses smallpox."

"I have a room with two beds," I said. "At the last minute my secretary
was taken ill. I'll be glad to have you share the room with me."

He thanked me and accepted my hospitality for the night—the
following morning we would be in Paris.

As we wound our way among the tables filled with laughing, joyous diners,
my companion paused beside that at which sat the young woman who had
previously attracted his attention. Their eyes met and into hers came a look
of puzzlement and half-recognition. He smiled frankly in her face, nodded and
passed on.

"You know her, then?" I asked.

"I shall—in two hundred years," was his enigmatical reply.

We found my room, and there we had a bottle of wine and some little cakes
and a quiet smoke and became much better acquainted.

It was he who first reverted to the subject of our conversation in the
Blue Room.

"I am going to tell you," he said, "what I have never told another; but on
the condition that if you retell it you are not to use my name. I have
several years of this life ahead of me and I do not care to be pointed out as
a lunatic. First let me say that I do not try to explain anything, except
that I do not believe prevision to be a proper explanation. I have actually
lived the experiences I shall tell you of, and that girl we saw dancing on
the table tonight lived them with me; but she does not know it. If you care
to, you can keep in mind the theory that there is no such thing as
Time—just keep it in mind—you cannot understand it, or at least I
cannot. Here goes."

"I HAD intended telling you my story of the days of the
twenty-second century, but it seems best, if you are to understand it, to
tell first the story of my great-great-grandfather who was born in the year
2000."

I must have looked up at him quizzically, for he smiled and shook his head
as one who is puzzled to find an explanation suited to the mental capacity of
his auditor.

"My great-great-grandfather was, in reality, the great-great-grandson of
my previous incarnation which commenced in 1896. I married in 1916, at the
age of twenty. My son Julian was born in 1917. I never saw him. I was killed
in France in 1918—on Armistice Day.

"I was again reincarnated in my son's son in 1937. I am thirty years of
age. My son was born in 1970—that is the son of my 1937 incarnation
—and his son, Julian 5th, in whom I again returned to Earth, in the
year 2000. I see you are confused, but please remember my injunction that you
are to try to keep in mind the theory that there is no such thing as Time. It
is now the year 1967 yet I recall distinctly every event of my life that
occurred in four incarnations—the last that I recall being that which
had its origin in the year 2100. Whether I actually skipped three generations
that time or through some caprice of Fate I am merely unable to visualize an
intervening incarnation, I do not know.

"My theory of the matter is that I differ only from my fellows in that I
can recall the events of many incarnations, while they can recall none of
theirs other than a few important episodes of that particular one they are
experiencing; but perhaps I am wrong. It is of no importance. I will tell you
the story of Julian 5th who was born in the year 2000, and then, if we have
time and you yet are interested, I will tell you of the torments during the
harrowing days of the twenty-second century, following the birth of Julian
9th in 2100."

I will try to tell the story in his own words in so far as I can recall
them, but for various reasons, not the least of which is that I am lazy, I
shall omit superfluous quotation marks—that is, with your permission,
of course.

My name is Julian. I am called Julian 5th. I come of an illustrious family
—my great-great-grandfather, Julian 1st, a major at twenty-two, was
killed in France early in The Great War. My great-grandfather, Julian 2nd,
was killed in battle in Turkey in 1938. My grandfather, Julian 3rd, fought
continuously from his sixteenth year until peace was declared in his
thirtieth year. He died in 1992 and during the last twenty-five years of his
life was an Admiral of the Air, being transferred at the close of the war to
command of the International Peace Fleet, which patrolled and policed the
world. He also was killed in line of duty, as was my father who succeeded him
in the service.

At sixteen I graduated from the Air School and was detailed to the
International Peace Fleet, being the fifth generation of my line to wear the
uniform of my country. That was in 2016, and I recall that it was a matter of
pride to me that it rounded out the full century since Julian 1st graduated
from West Point, and that during that one hundred years no adult male of my
line had ever owned or worn civilian clothes.

Of course there were no more wars, but there still was fighting. We had
the pirates of the air to contend with and occasionally some of the
uncivilized tribes of Russia, Africa and central Asia required the attention
of a punitive expedition. However, life seemed tame and monotonous to us when
we read of the heroic deeds of our ancestors from 1914 to 1967, yet none of
us wanted war. It had been too well schooled into us that we must not think
of war, and the International Peace Fleet so effectively prevented all
preparation for war that we all knew there could never be another. There
wasn't a firearm in the world other than those with which we were armed, and
a few of ancient design that were kept as heirlooms, or in museums, or that
were owned by savage tribes who could procure no ammunition for them, since
we permitted none to be manufactured. There was not a gas shell nor a radio
bomb, nor any engine to discharge or project one; and there wasn't a big gun
of any calibre in the world. I veritably believed that a thousand men
equipped with the various engines of destruction that had reached their
highest efficiency at the close of the war in 1967 could have conquered the
world; but there were not a thousand men so armed—there never could be
a thousand men so equipped anywhere upon the face of the Earth. The
International Peace Fleet was equipped and manned to prevent just such a
calamity.

But it seems that Providence never intended that the world should be
without calamities. If man prevented those of possible internal origin there
still remained undreamed of external sources over which he had no control. It
was one of these which was to prove our undoing. Its seed was sown
thirty-three years before I was born, upon that historic day, June 10th,
1967, that Earth received her first message from Mars, since which the two
planets have remained in constant friendly communication, carrying on a
commerce of reciprocal enlightenment. In some branches of the arts and
sciences the Martians, or Barsoomians, as they call themselves, were far in
advance of us, while in others we had progressed more rapidly than they.
Knowledge was thus freely exchanged to the advantage of both worlds. We
learned of their history and customs and they of ours, though they had for
ages already known much more of us than we of them. Martian news held always
a prominent place in our daily papers from the first.

They helped us most, perhaps, in the fields of medicine and aeronautics,
giving us in one, the marvelous healing lotions of Barsoom and in the other,
knowledge of the Eighth Ray, which is more generally known on Earth as the
Barsoomian Ray, which is now stored in the buoyancy tanks of every air craft
and has made obsolete those ancient types of plane that depended upon
momentum to keep them afloat.

That we ever were able to communicate intelligibly with them is due to the
presence upon Mars of that deathless Virginian, John Carter, whose miraculous
transportation to Mars occurred March 4th, 1866, as every school child of the
twenty-first century knows. Had not the little band of Martian scientists,
who sought so long to communicate with Earth, mistakenly formed themselves
into a secret organization for political purposes, messages might have been
exchanged between the two planets nearly half a century before they were, and
it was not until they finally called upon John Carter that the present
inter-planetary code was evolved.

Almost from the first the subject which engrossed us all the most was the
possibility of an actual exchange of visits between Earth Men and
Barsoomians. Each planet hoped to be the first to achieve this, yet neither
withheld any information that would aid the other in the consummation of the
great fact. It was a generous and friendly rivalry which about the time of my
graduation from the Air School seemed, in theory at least, to be almost ripe
for successful consummation by one or the other. We had the Eighth Ray, the
motors, the oxygenating devices, the insulating processes—everything to
insure the safe and certain transit of a specially designed air craft to
Mars, were Mars the only other inhabitant of space. But it was not and it was
the other planets and the Sun that we feared.

In 2015 Mars had dispatched a ship for Earth with a crew of five men
provisioned for ten years. It was hoped that with good luck the trip might be
made in something less than five years, as the craft had developed an actual
trial speed of one thousand miles per hour. At the time of my graduation the
ship was already off its course almost a million miles and generally conceded
to be hopelessly lost. Its crew, maintaining constant radio communication
with both Earth and Mars, still hoped for success, but the best informed upon
both worlds had given them up.

We had had a ship about ready at the time of the sailing of the Martians,
but the government at Washington had forbidden the venture when it became
apparent that the Barsoomian ship was doomed—a wise decision, since our
vessel was no better equipped than theirs. Nearly ten years elapsed before
anything further was accomplished in the direction of assuring any greater
hope of success for another interplanetary venture into space, and this was
directly due to the discovery made by a former classmate of mine, Lieutenant
Commander Orthis, one of the most brilliant men I have ever known, and at the
same time one of the most unscrupulous, and, to me at least, the most
obnoxious.

We had entered the Air School together—he from New York and I from
Illinois—and almost from the first day we had seemed to discover a
mutual antagonism that, upon his part at least, must have been considerably
strengthened by numerous unfortunate occurrences during our four years
beneath the same roof. In the first place he was not popular with either the
cadets, the instructors, or the officers of the school, while I was most
fortunate in this respect. In those various fields of athletics in which he
considered himself particularly expert, it was always I, unfortunately, who
excelled him and kept him from major honors. In the class room he outshone us
all—even the instructors were amazed at the brilliancy of his
intellect—and yet as we passed from grade to grade I often topped him
in the final examinations. I ranked him always as a cadet officer, and upon
graduation I took a higher grade among the new ensigns than he—a rank
that had many years before been discontinued, but which had recently been
revived.

From then on I saw little of him, his services confining him principally
to land service, while mine kept me almost constantly on the air in all parts
of the world. Occasionally I heard of him—usually something unsavory;
he had married a nice girl and abandoned her—there had been talk of an
investigation of his accounts—and the last that there was a rumor that
he was affiliated with a secret order that sought to overthrow the
government. Some things I might believe of Orthis, but not this.

And during these nine years since graduation, as we had drifted apart in
interests, so had the breach between us been widened by constantly increasing
difference in rank. He was a Lieutenant Commander and I a Captain, when in
2024 he announced the discovery and isolation of the Eighth Solar Ray, and
within two months those of the Moon, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter. The Eighth
Barsoomian and the Eighth Earthly Rays had already been isolated, and upon
Earth the latter erroneously called by the name of the former.

Orthis' discoveries were hailed upon two planets as the key to actual
travel between the Earth and Barsoom, since by means of these several rays
the attraction of the Sun and the planets, with the exception of Saturn,
Uranus and Neptune, could be definitely overcome and a ship steer a direct
and unimpeded course through space to Mars. The effect of the pull of the
three farther planets was considered negligible, owing to their great
distance from both Mars and Earth.

Orthis wanted to equip a ship and start at once, but again government
intervened and forbade what it considered an unnecessary risk. Instead Orthis
was ordered to design a small radio operated flier, which would carry no one
aboard, and which it was believed could be automatically operated for at
least half the distance between the two planets. After his designs were
completed, you may imagine his chagrin, and mine as well, when I was detailed
to supervise construction, yet I will say that Orthis hid his natural
emotions well and gave me perfect cooperation in the work we were compelled
to undertake together, and which was as distasteful to me as to him. On my
part I made it as easy for him as I could, working with him rather than over
him.

It required but a short time to complete the experimental ship and during
this time I had an opportunity to get a still better insight into the
marvelous intellectual ability of Orthis, though I never saw into his mind or
heart.

It was late in 2024 that the ship was launched upon its strange voyage,
and almost immediately, upon my recommendation, work was started upon the
perfection of the larger ship that had been in course of construction in 2015
at the time that the loss of the Martian ship had discouraged our government
in making any further attempt until the then seemingly insurmountable
obstacles should have been overcome. Orthis was again my assistant, and with
the means at our disposal it was a matter of less than eight months before
The Barsoom, as she was christened, was completely overhauled and
thoroughly equipped for the interplanetary voyage. The various eighth rays
that would assist us in overcoming the pull of the Sun, Mercury, Venus,
Earth, Mars and Jupiter were stored in carefully constructed and well
protected tanks within the hull, and there was a smaller tank at the bow
containing the Eighth Lunar Ray, which would permit us to pass safely within
the zone of the moon's influence without danger of being attracted to her
barren surface.

Messages from the original Martian ship had been received from time to
time and with diminishing strength for nearly five years after it had left
Mars. Its commander in his heroic fight against the pull of the sun had
managed to fall within the grip of Jupiter and was, when last heard from, far
out in the great void between that planet and Mars. During the past four
years the fate of the ship could be naught but conjecture—all that we
could be certain of was that its unfortunate crew would never again return to
Barsoom.

Our own experimental ship had been speeding upon its lonely way now for
eight months, and so accurate had Orthis' scientific deductions proven that
the most delicate instrument could detect no slightest deviation from its
prescribed course. It was then that Orthis began to importune the government
to permit him to set out with the new craft that was now completed. The
authorities held out, however, until the latter part of 2025 when, the
experimental ship having been out a year and still showing no deviation from
its course, they felt reasonably assured that the success of the venture was
certain and that no useless risk of human life would be involved.

The Barsoom required five men properly to handle it, and as had
been the custom through many centuries when an undertaking of more than usual
risk was to be attempted, volunteers were called for, with the result that
fully half the personnel of the International Peace Fleet begged to be
permitted to form the crew of five.

On board the "Barsoom."

The government finally selected their men from the great number of
volunteers, with the result that once more was I the innocent cause of
disappointment and chagrin to Orthis, as I was placed in command, with
Orthis, two lieutenants and an ensign completing the roster.

The Barsoom was larger than the craft dispatched by the Martians,
with the result that we were able to carry supplies for fifteen years. We
were equipped with more powerful motors which would permit us to maintain an
average speed of over twelve hundred miles an hour, carrying in addition an
engine recently developed by Orthis which generated sufficient power from
light to propel the craft at half-speed in the event that our other engine
should break down. None of us was married, Orthis' abandoned wife having
recently died. Our estates were taken under trusteeship by the government.
Our farewells were made at an elaborate ball at the White House on December
24, 2025, and on Christmas day we rose from the landing stage at which the
Barsoom had been moored, and amid the blare of bands and the shouting
of thousands of our fellow countrymen we arose majestically into the
blue.

I shall not bore you with dry, technical descriptions of our motors and
equipment. Suffice it to say that the former were of three types— those
which propelled the ship through the air and those which propelled it through
ether, the latter of course represented our most important equipment, and
consisted of powerful multiple-exhaust separators which isolated the true
Barsoomian Eighth Ray in great quantities, and, by exhausting it rapidly
earthward, propelled the vessel toward Mars. These separators were so
designed that, with equal facility, they could isolate the Earthly Eighth Ray
which would be necessary for our return voyage. The auxiliary engine, which I
mentioned previously and which was Orthis' latest invention, could be easily
adjusted to isolate the eighth ray of any planet or satellite or of the sun
itself, thus insuring us motive power in any part of the universe by the
simple expedient of generating and exhausting the eighth ray of the nearest
heavenly body. A fourth type of generator drew oxygen from the ether, while
another emanated insulating rays which insured us a uniform temperature and
external pressure at all times, their action being analogous to that of the
atmosphere surrounding the earth. Science had, therefore, permitted us to
construct a little world, which moved at will through space—a little
world inhabited by five souls.

Had it not been for Orthis' presence I could have looked forward to a
reasonably pleasurable voyage, for West and Jay were extremely likeable
fellows and sufficiently mature to be companionable, while young Norton, the
ensign, though but seventeen years of age, endeared himself to all of us from
the very start of the voyage by his pleasant manners, his consideration and
his willingness in the performance of his duties. There were three staterooms
aboard the Barsoom, one of which I occupied alone, while West and
Orthis had the second and Jay and Norton the third. West and Jay were
lieutenants and had been classmates at the air school. They would of course
have preferred to room together, but could not unless I commanded it or
Orthis requested it. Not wishing to give Orthis any grounds for offense I
hesitated to make the change, while Orthis, never having thought a
considerate thought or done a considerate deed in his life, could not, of
course, have been expected to suggest it. We all messed together, West, Jay
and Norton taking turns at preparing the meals. Only in the actual operation
of the ship were the lines of rank drawn strictly. Otherwise we associated as
equals, nor would any other arrangement have been endurable upon such an
undertaking, which required that we five be practically imprisoned together
upon a small ship for a period of not less than five years. We had books and
writing materials and games, and we were, of course, in constant radio
communication with both Earth and Mars, receiving continuously the latest
news from both planets. We listened to opera and oratory and heard the music
of two worlds, so that we were not lacking for entertainment. There was
always a certain constraint in Orthis' manner toward me, yet I must give him
credit for behaving outwardly admirably. Unlike the others we never exchanged
pleasantries with one another, nor could I, knowing as I did that Orthis
hated me, and feeling for him personally the contempt that I felt because of
his character. Intellectually he commanded my highest admiration, and upon
intellectual grounds we met without constraint or reserve, and many were the
profitable discussions we had during the first days of what was to prove a
very brief voyage.

It was about the second day that I noticed with some surprise that Orthis
was exhibiting a friendly interest in Norton. It had never been Orthis' way
to make friends, but I saw that he and Norton were much together and that
each seemed to derive a great deal of pleasure from the society of the other.
Orthis was a good talker. He knew his profession thoroughly, and was an
inventor and scientist of high distinction. Norton, though but a boy, was
himself the possessor of a fine mind. He had been honor-man in his graduating
class, heading the list of ensigns for that year, and I could not help but
notice that he was drinking in every word along scientific lines that Orthis
vouchsafed.

We had been out about six days when Orthis came to me and suggested, that
inasmuch as West and Jay had been classmates and chums that they be permitted
to room together and that he had spoken to Norton who had said that he would
be agreeable to the change and would occupy West's bunk in Orthis' stateroom.
I was very glad of this for it now meant that my subordinates would be paired
off in the most agreeable manner, and as long as they were contented, I knew
that the voyage from that standpoint at least would be more successful. I
was, of course, a trifle sorry to see a fine boy like Norton brought under
the influence of Orthis, yet I felt that what little danger might result
would be offset by the influence of West and Jay and myself or
counter-balanced by the liberal education which five years' constant
companionship with Orthis would be to any man with whom Orthis would discuss
freely the subjects of which he was master.

We were beginning to feel the influence of the Moon rather strongly. At
the rate we were traveling we would pass closest to it upon the twelfth day,
or about the 6th of January, 2026.

Our course would bring us within about twenty thousand miles of the Moon,
and as we neared it I believe that the sight of it was the most impressive
thing that human eye had ever gazed upon before. To the naked eye it loomed
large and magnificent in the heavens, appearing over ten times the size that
it does to terrestrial observers, while our powerful glasses brought its
weird surface to such startling proximity that one felt that he might reach
out and touch the torn rocks of its tortured mountains.

This nearer view enabled us to discover the truth or falsity of the theory
that has been long held by some scientists that there is a form of vegetation
upon the surface of the Moon. Our eyes were first attracted by what appeared
to be movement upon the surface of some of the valleys and in the deeper
ravines of the mountains. Norton exclaimed that there were creatures there,
moving about, but closer observation revealed the fact of the existence of a
weird fungus-like vegetation which grew so rapidly that we could clearly
discern the phenomena. From the several days' observation which we had at
close range we came to the conclusion that the entire life span of this
vegetation is encompassed in a single sidereal month. From the spore it
developed in the short period of a trifle over twenty-seven days into a
mighty plant that is sometimes hundreds of feet in height. The branches are
angular and grotesque, the leaves broad and thick, and in the plants which we
discerned the seven primary colors were distinctly represented. As each
portion of the Moon passed slowly into shadow the vegetation first drooped,
then wilted, then crumbled to the ground, apparently disintegrating almost
immediately into a fine, dust-like powder—at least in so far as our
glasses revealed, it quite disappeared entirely. The movement which we
discerned was purely that of rapid growth, as there is no wind upon the
surface of the Moon. Both Jay and Orthis were positive that they discerned
some form of animal life, either insect or reptilian. These I did not myself
see, though I did perceive many of the broad, flat leaves which seemed to
have been partially eaten, which certainly strengthened the theory that there
is other than vegetable life upon our satellite.

I presume that one of the greatest thrills that we experienced in this
adventure, that was to prove a veritable Pandora's box of thrills, was when
we commenced to creep past the edge of the Moon and our eyes beheld for the
first time that which no other human eyes had ever rested upon—
portions of that two-fifths of the Moon's surface which is invisible from the
Earth.

We had looked with awe upon Mare Crisium and Lacus Somniorum, Sinius
Roris, Oceanus Procellarum and the four great mountain ranges. We had viewed
at close range the volcanoes of Opollonius, Secchi, Borda, Tycho and their
mates, but all these paled into insignificance as there unrolled before us
the panorama of the vast unknown.

I cannot say that it differed materially from that portion of the Moon
that is visible to us—it was merely the glamour of mystery which had
surrounded it since the beginning of time that lent to it its thrill for us.
Here we observed other great mountain ranges and wide undulating plains,
towering volcanoes and mighty craters and the same vegetation with which we
had now become familiar.

We were two days past the Moon when our first trouble developed. Among our
stores were one hundred and twenty quarts of spirits per man, enough to allow
us each a liberal two ounces per day for a period of five years. Each night,
before dinner, we had drunk to the President in a cocktail which contained a
single ounce of spirits, the idea being to conserve our supply in the event
of our journey being unduly protracted as well as to have enough in the event
that it became desirable fittingly to celebrate any particular occasion.

Toward the third meal hour of the thirteenth day of the voyage Orthis
entered the messroom noticeably under the influence of liquor.

History narrates that under the regime of prohibition drunkenness was
common and that it grew to such proportions as to become a national menace,
but with the repeal of the Prohibition Act, nearly a hundred years ago, the
habit of drinking to excess abated, so that it became a matter of disgrace
for any man to show his liquor, and in the service it was considered as
reprehensible as cowardice in action. There was therefore but one thing for
me to do. I ordered Orthis to his quarters.

He was drunker than I had thought him, and he turned upon me like a
tiger.

"You damned cur," he cried. "All my life you have stolen everything from
me; the fruits of all my efforts you have garnered by chicanery and trickery,
and even now, were we to reach Mars, it is you who would be lauded as the
hero—not I whose labor and intellect have made possible this
achievement. But by God we will not reach Mars. Not again shall you profit by
my efforts. You have gone too far this time, and now you dare to order me
about like a dog and an inferior—I, whose brains have made you what you
are."

I held my temper, for I saw that the man was unaccountable for his words.
"Go to your quarters, Orthis," I repeated my command. "I will talk with you
again in the morning."

West and Jay and Norton were present. They seemed momentarily paralyzed by
the man's condition and gross insubordination. Norton, however, was the first
to recover. Jumping quickly to Orthis' side he laid his hand upon his arm.
"Come, sir," he said, and to my surprise Orthis accompanied him quietly to
their stateroom.

During the voyage we had continued the fallacy of night and day, gauging
them merely by our chronometers, since we moved always through utter
darkness, surrounded only by a tiny nebula of light, produced by the sun's
rays impinging upon the radiation from our insulating generator. Before
breakfast, therefore, on the following morning I sent for Orthis to come to
my stateroom. He entered with a truculent swagger, and his first words
indicated that if he had not continued drinking, he had at least been moved
to no regrets for his unwarranted attack of the previous evening.

"Well," he said, "what in hell are you going to do about it?"

"I cannot understand your attitude, Orthis," I told him. "I have never
intentionally injured you. When orders from government threw us together I
was as much chagrined as you. Association with you is as distasteful to me as
it is to you. I merely did as you did—obeyed orders. I have no desire
to rob you of anything, but that is not the question now. You have been
guilty of gross insubordination and of drunkenness. I can prevent a
repetition of the latter by confiscating your liquor and keeping it from you
during the balance of the voyage, and an apology from you will atone for the
former. I shall give you twenty-four hours to reach a decision. If you do not
see fit to avail yourself of my clemency, Orthis, you will travel to Mars and
back again in irons. Your decision now and your behavior during the balance
of the voyage will decide your fate upon our return to Earth. And I tell you,
Orthis, that if I possibly can do so I shall use the authority which is mine
upon this expedition and expunge from the log the record of your
transgressions last night and this morning. Now go to your quarters; your
meals will be served there for twenty-four hours and at the end of that time
I shall receive your decision. Meanwhile your liquor will be taken from
you."

He gave me an ugly look, turned upon his heel and left my stateroom.

Norton was on watch that night. We were two days past the Moon. West, Jay
and I were asleep in our staterooms, when suddenly Norton entered mine and
shook me violently by the shoulder.

I leaped to my feet and followed Norton amidships to the engine-room,
calling to West and Jay as I passed their state-room. Through the bull's-eye
in the engine-room door, which he had locked, we could see Orthis working
over the auxiliary generator which was to have proven our salvation in an
emergency, since by means of it we could overcome the pull of any planet into
the sphere of whose influence we might be carried. I breathed a sigh of
relief as my eyes noted that the main battery of engines was functioning
properly, since, as a matter of fact, we had not expected to have to rely at
all upon the auxiliary generator, having stored sufficient quantities of the
Eighth Ray of the various heavenly bodies by which we might be influenced, to
carry us safely throughout the entire extent of the long voyage. West and Jay
had joined us by this time, and I now called to Orthis, commanding him to
open the door. He did something more to the generator and then arose, crossed
the engine-room directly to the door, unbolted it and threw the door open.
His hair was dishevelled, his face drawn, his eyes shining with a peculiar
light, but withal his expression denoted a drunken elation that I did not at
the moment understand.

Orthis sabotages the engines of the "Barsoom."

"What have you been doing here, Orthis?" I demanded. "You are under
arrest, and supposed to be in your quarters."

"You'll see what I've been doing," he replied truculently, "and it's done
—it's done—it can't ever be undone. I've seen to that."

I grabbed him roughly by the shoulder. "What do you mean? Tell me what you
have done, or by God I will kill you with my own hands," for I knew, not only
from his words but from his expression, that he had accomplished something
which he considered very terrible.

The man was a coward and he quailed under my grasp. "You wouldn't dare to
kill me," he cried, "and it don't make any difference, for we'll all be dead
in a few hours. Go and look at your damned compass."

NORTON, whose watch it was, had already hurried toward the
pilot room where were located the controls and the various instruments. This
room, which was just forward of the engine-room, was in effect a circular
conning-tower which projected about twelve inches above the upper hull. The
entire circumference of this twelve inch superstructure was set with small
ports of thick crystal glass.

As I turned to follow Norton I spoke to West. "Mr. West," I said, "you and
Mr. Jay will place Lieutenant Commander Orthis in irons immediately. If he
resists, kill him."

As I hurried after Norton I heard a volley of oaths from Orthis and a
burst of almost maniacal laughter. When I reached the pilot house I found
Norton working very quietly with the controls. There was nothing hysterical
in his movements, but his face was absolutely ashen.

"What is wrong, Mr. Norton?" I asked. But as I looked at the compass
simultaneously I read my answer there before he spoke. We were moving at
right angles to our proper course.

"We are falling toward the Moon, sir," he said, "and she does not respond
to her control."

"We are falling toward the Moon, sir," he said.

"Shut down the engines," I ordered, "they are only accelerating our
fall,"

"Aye, aye, sir," he replied.

"The Lunar Eighth Ray tank is of sufficient capacity to keep us off the
Moon," I said. "If it has not been tampered with, we should be in no danger
of falling to the Moon's surface."

"If it has not been tampered with, sir; yes, sir, that is what I have been
thinking."

"But the gauge here shows it full to capacity," I reminded him.

"I know, sir," he replied, "but if it were full to capacity, we should not
be falling so rapidly."

Immediately I fell to examining the gauge, almost at once discovering that
it had been tampered with and the needle set permanently to indicate a
maximum supply. I turned to my companion.

"Mr. Norton," I said, "please go forward and investigate the Lunar Eighth
Ray tank, and report back to me immediately."

The young man saluted and departed. As he approached the tank it was
necessary for him to crawl through a very restricted place beneath the
deck.

In about five minutes Norton returned. He was not so pale as he had been,
but he looked very haggard.

"Well?" I inquired as he halted before me.

"The exterior intake valve has been opened, sir," he said, "the rays were
escaping into space. I have closed it, sir."

The valve to which he referred was used only when the ship was in dry
dock, for the purpose of refilling the buoyancy tank, and, because it was so
seldom used and as a further precaution against accident, the valve was
placed in an inaccessible part of the hull where there was absolutely no
likelihood of its being accidentally opened.

Norton glanced at the instrument. "We are not falling quite so rapidly
now," he said.

"Yes," I replied, "I had noted that, and I have also been able to adjust
the Lunar Eighth Ray gauge—it shows that we have about half the
original pressure."

"Not enough to keep us from going aground," he commented.

"No, not here, where there is no atmosphere. If the Moon had an atmosphere
we could at least keep off the surface if we wished to. As it is, however, I
imagine that we will be able to make a safe landing, though, of course that
will do us little good. You understand, I suppose, Mr. Norton, that this is
practically the end."

He nodded. "It will be a sad blow to the inhabitants of two worlds," he
remarked, his entire forgetfulness of self indicating the true nobility of
his character.

"It is a sad report to broadcast," I remarked, "but it must be done, and
at once. You will, please, send the following message to the Secretary of
Peace:

"U.S.S. the Barsoom, January 6, 2026, about twenty thousand miles
off the Moon. Lieutenant Commander Orthis, while under the influence of
liquor, has destroyed auxiliary engine and opened exterior intake valve Lunar
Eighth Ray buoyancy tank. Ship sinking rapidly. Will keep you—"

Norton who had seated himself at the radio desk leaped suddenly to his
feet and turned toward me. "My God, sir," he cried, "he has destroyed the
radio outfit also. We can neither send nor receive."

A careful examination revealed the fact that Orthis had so cleverly and
completely destroyed the instruments that there was no hope of repairing
them. I turned to Norton.

"We are not only dead, Norton, but we are buried, as well."

I smiled as I spoke and he answered me with a smile that betokened his
utter fearlessness of death.

"I have but one regret, sir," he said, "and that is that the world will
never know that our failure was not due to any weakness of our machinery,
ship or equipment."

"That is, indeed, too bad," I replied, "for it will retard transportation
between the two worlds possibly a hundred years—maybe forever."

I called to West and Jay who by this time had placed Orthis in irons and
confined him to his stateroom. When they came I told them what had happened,
and they took it as coolly as did Norton. Nor was I surprised, for these were
fine types selected from the best of that splendid organization which
officered the International Peace Fleet.

Together we immediately made a careful inspection of the ship, which
revealed no further damage than that which we had already discovered, but
which was sufficient as we well knew, to preclude any possibility of our
escaping from the pull of the Moon.

"You gentlemen realize our position as well as I," I told them. "Could we
repair the auxiliary generator we might isolate the Lunar Eighth Ray, refill
our tank, and resume our voyage. But the diabolical cleverness with which
Lieutenant Commander Orthis has wrecked the machine renders this impossible.
We might fight away from the surface of the Moon for a considerable period,
but in the end it would avail us nothing. It is my plan, therefore, to make a
landing. In so far as the actual lunar conditions are concerned, we are
confronted only by a mass of theories, many of which are conflicting. It
will, therefore, be at least a matter of consuming interest to us to make a
landing upon this dead world where we may observe it closely, but there is
also the possibility, remote, I grant you, that we may discover conditions
there which may in some manner alleviate our position. At least we can be no
worse off. To live for fifteen years cooped in the hull of this dead ship is
unthinkable. I may speak only for myself, but to me it would be highly
preferable to die immediately than to live on thus, knowing that there was no
hope of rescue. Had Orthis not destroyed the radio outfit we could have
communicated with Earth and another ship been outfitted and sent to our
rescue inside a year. But now we cannot tell them, and they will never know
our fate. The emergency that has arisen has, however, so altered conditions
that I do not feel warranted in taking this step without consulting you
gentlemen. It is a matter now largely of the duration of our lives. I cannot
proceed upon the mission upon which I have been dispatched, nor can I return
to Earth. I wish, therefore, that you would express yourselves freely
concerning the plan which I have outlined."

West, who was the senior among them, was naturally the one to reply first.
He told me that he was content to go wherever I led, and Jay and Norton in
turn signified a similar willingness to abide by whatever decision I might
reach. They also assured me that they were as keen to explore the surface of
the Moon at close range as I, and that they could think of no better way of
spending the remainder of their lives than in the acquisition of new
experiences and the observation of new scenes.

As we plunged through space at a terrific speed, the satellite seemed to
be leaping madly toward us, and at the end of fifteen hours I gave orders to
slack off and brought the ship almost to a stop about nine thousand feet
above the summit of the higher lunar peaks. Never before had I gazed upon a
more awe-inspiring scene than that presented by those terrific peaks towering
five miles above the broad valleys at their feet. Sheer cliffs of three and
four thousand feet were nothing uncommon, and all was rendered weirdly
beautiful by the variegated colors of the rocks and the strange prismatic
hues of the rapidly-growing vegetation upon the valley floors. From our lofty
elevation above the peaks we could see many craters of various dimensions,
some of which were huge chasms, three and four miles in diameter. As we
descended slowly we drifted directly over one of these abysses, into the
impenetrable depths of which we sought to strain our eyesight. Some of us
believed that we detected a faint luminosity far below, but of that we could
not be certain. Jay thought it might be the reflected light from the molten
interior. I was confident that had this been the case there would have been a
considerable rise of temperature as we passed low across the mouth of the
crater.

At this altitude we made an interesting discovery. There is an atmosphere
surrounding the Moon. It is extremely tenuous, but yet it was recorded by our
barometer at an altitude of about fifteen hundred feet above the highest peak
we crossed. Doubtless in the valleys and deep ravines, where the vegetation
thrived, it is denser, but that I do not know, since we never landed upon the
surface of the Moon. As the ship drifted we presently noted that it was
taking a circular course paralleling the rim of the huge volcanic crater
above which we were descending. I immediately gave orders to alter our course
since, as we were descending constantly, we should presently be below the rim
of the crater and, being unable to rise, be hopelessly lost in its huge
maw.

It was my plan to drift slowly over one of the larger valleys as we
descended, and make a landing amidst the vegetation which we perceived
growing in riotous profusion and movement beneath us. But when West, whose
watch it now was, attempted to alter the course of the ship, he found that it
did not respond. Instead it continued to move slowly in a great circle around
the inside rim of the crater. At the moment of this discovery we were not
much more than five hundred feet above the summit of the volcano, and we were
constantly, though slowly, dropping. West looked up at us, smiled, and shook
his head.

"It is no use, sir," he said, addressing me. "It is about all over, sir,
and there won't even be any shouting. We seem to be caught in what one might
call a lunar whirlpool, for you will have noticed, sir, that our circles are
constantly growing smaller."

"Our speed does not seem to be increasing," I remarked, "as would follow
were we approaching the vortex of a true whirlpool."

"I think I can explain it, sir," said Norton. "It is merely due to the
action of the Lunar Eighth Ray which still remains in the forward buoyancy
tank. Its natural tendency is to push itself away from the Moon, which, as
far as we are concerned, is represented by the rim of this enormous crater.
As each portion of the surface repels us in its turn we are pushed gently
along in a lessening circle, because, as we drop nearer the summit of the
peak the greater the reaction of the Eighth Lunar Ray. If I am not mistaken
in my theory our circle will cease to narrow after we have dropped beneath
the rim of the crater."

"I guess you are right, Norton," I said. "At least it is a far more
tenable theory than that we are being sucked into the vortex of an enormous
whirlpool. There is scarcely enough atmosphere for that, it seems to me."

As we dropped slowly below the rim of the crater the tenability of
Norton's theory became more and more apparent, for presently, though our
speed increased slightly, the diameter of our circular course remained
constant, and, at a little greater depth, our speed as well. We were
descending now at the rate of a little over ten miles an hour, the barometer
recording a constantly increasing atmospheric pressure, though nothing
approximating that necessary to the support of life upon Earth. The
temperature rose slightly, but not alarmingly. From a range of twenty-five or
thirty below zero, immediately after we had entered the shadow of the
crater's interior, it rose gradually to zero at a point some one hundred and
twenty-five miles below the summit of the giant extinct volcano that had
engulfed us.

During the next ten miles our speed diminished rapidly, until we suddenly
realized that we were no longer falling, but that our motion had been
reversed and we were rising. Up we went for approximately eight miles, when
suddenly we began to fall again. Again we fell, but this time for only six
miles, when our motion was reversed and we rose again a distance of about
four miles. This see-sawing was continued until we finally came to rest at
about what we estimated was a distance of some one hundred and thirty miles
below the summit of the crater. It was quite dark, and we had only our
instruments to tell us of what was happening to the ship, the interior of
which was, of course, brilliantly illuminated and comfortably warm.

Now below us, and now above us, for the ship had rolled completely over
each time we had passed the point at which we came finally to rest, we had
noted the luminosity that Norton had first observed from above the mouth of
the crater. Each of us had been doing considerable thinking, and at last
young Norton could contain himself no longer.

"I beg your pardon, sir," he said deferentially, "but won't you tell us
what you think of it; what your theory is as to where we are and why we hang
here in mid-air, and why the ship rolled over every time we passed this
point?"

"I can only account for it," I replied, "upon a single and rather
preposterous hypothesis, which is that the Moon is a hollow sphere, with a
solid crust some two hundred and fifty miles in thickness. Gravity is
preventing us from rising above the point where we now are, while centrifugal
force keeps us from falling."

The others nodded. They too had been forced to accept the same apparently
ridiculous theory, since there was none other that could explain our
predicament. Norton had walked across the room to read the barometer which he
had rather neglected while the ship had been performing her eccentric antics
far below the surface of the Moon. I saw his brows knit as he glanced at it,
and then I saw him studying it carefully, as though to assure himself that he
had made no mistake in the reading. Then he turned toward us.

"There must be something wrong with this instrument, sir," he said. "It is
registering pressure equivalent to that at the Earth's surface."

I walked over and looked at the instrument. It certainly was registering
the pressure that Norton had read, nor did there seem to be anything wrong
with the instrument.

"There is a way to find out," I said. "We can shut down the insulating
generator and open an air-cock momentarily. It won't take five seconds to
determine whether the barometer is correct or not." It was, of course, in
some respects a risky proceeding, but with West at the generator, Jay at the
air-cock and Norton at the pump I knew that we would be reasonably safe, even
if there proved to be no atmosphere without. The only danger lay in the
chance that we were hanging in a poisonous gas of the same density as the
earthly atmosphere, but as there was no particular incentive to live in the
situation in which we were, we each felt that no matter what chance we might
take it would make little difference in the eventual outcome of our
expedition.

I tell you that it was a very tense moment as the three men took their
posts to await my word of command. If we had indeed discovered a true
atmosphere beneath the surface of the Moon, what more might we not discover?
If it were an atmosphere, we could propel the ship in it, and we could, if
nothing more, go out on deck to breathe fresh air. It was arranged that at my
word of command West was to shut off the generator. Jay to open the air-cock,
and Norton to start the pump. If fresh air failed to enter through the tube
Jay was to give the signal, whereupon Norton would reverse the pump, West
start the generator, and immediately Jay would close the air-cock again.

As Jay was the only man who was to take a greater chance than the others,
I walked over and stood beside him, placing my nostrils as close to the
air-cock as his. Then I gave the word of command. Everything worked perfectly
and an instant later a rush of fresh, cold air was pouring into the hull of
the Barsoom. West and Norton had been watching the effects upon our
faces closely, so that they knew almost as soon as we did that the result of
our test had been satisfactory. We were all smiles, though just why we were
so happy I am sure none of us could have told. Possibly it was just because
we had found a condition that was identical with an earthly condition, and
though we might never see our world again we could at least breathe air
similar to hers. I had them start the motors again then, and presently we
were moving in a great spiral upward toward the interior of the Moon. Our
progress was very slow, but as we rose the temperature rose slowly, too,
while the barometer showed a very-slightly-decreasing atmospheric pressure.
The luminosity, now above us, increased as we ascended, until finally the
sides of the great well through which we were passing became slightly
illuminated.

All this time Orthis had remained in irons in his stateroom. I had given
instructions that he was to be furnished food and water, but no one was to
speak to him, and I had taken Norton into my stateroom with me. Knowing
Orthis to be a drunkard, a traitor and a potential murderer I had no sympathy
whatsoever for him. I had determined to court-martial him and did not intend
to spend the few remaining hours or years of my life cooped up in a small
ship with him, and I knew that the verdict of any court, whether composed of
the remaining crew of the Barsoom, or appointed by the Judge Advocate
General of the Navy, could result in but one thing, and that was death for
Orthis. I had left the matter, however, until we were not pressed with other
matters of greater importance, and so he still lived, though he shared
neither in our fears, our hopes, nor our joys.

About twenty-six hours after we entered the mouth of the crater at the
surface of the Moon we suddenly emerged from its opposite end to look upon a
scene that was as marvelous and weird, by comparison with the landscape upon
the surface of the Moon, as the latter was in comparison with that of our own
Earth. A soft, diffused light revealed to us in turn mountains, valleys and
sea, the details of which were more slowly encompassed by our minds. The
mountains were as rugged as those upon the surface of the satellite, and
appeared equally as lofty. They were, however, clothed with verdure almost to
their summits, at least a few that were within our range of vision. And there
were forests, too—strange forests, of strange trees, so unearthly in
appearance as to suggest the weird phantasmagoria of a dream.

A soft, diffused light revealed to us in turn mountains,
valleys and sea.

We did not rise much above five hundred feet from the opening of the well
through which we had come from outer space when I descried an excellent
landing place and determined to descend. This was readily accomplished, and
we made a safe landing close to a large forest and near the bank of a small
stream. Then we opened the forward hatch and stepped out upon the deck of the
Barsoom, the first Earth Men to breathe the air of Luna. It was,
according to Earth time, eleven A.M., January 8, 2026.

I think that the first thing which engaged our interest and attention was
the strange, and then, to us, unaccountable luminosity which pervaded the
interior of the Moon. Above us were banks of fleecy clouds, the undersurfaces
of which appeared to be lighted from beneath, while, through breaks in the
cloud banks we could discern a luminous firmament beyond, though nowhere was
there any suggestion of a central incandescent orb radiating light and heat
as does our sun. The clouds themselves cast no shadows upon the ground, nor,
in fact, were there any well-defined shadows even directly beneath the hull
of the ship or surrounding the forest trees which grew close at hand. The
shadows were vague and nebulous, blending off into nothingnesses at their
edges. We ourselves cast no more shadows upon the deck of the Barsoom
than would have been true upon a cloudy day on Earth. Yet the general
illumination surrounding us approximated that of a very slightly hazy Earth
day. This peculiar lunar light interested us profoundly, but it was some time
before we discovered the true explanation of its origin. It was of two kinds,
emanating from widely different sources, the chief of which was due to the
considerable radium content of the internal lunar soil, and principally of
the rock forming the loftier mountain ranges, the radium being so combined as
to diffuse a gentle perpetual light which pervaded the entire interior of the
Moon. The secondary source was sunlight, which penetrated to the interior of
the Moon through the hundreds of thousands of huge craters penetrating the
lunar crust. It was this sunlight which carried heat to the inner world,
maintaining a constant temperature of about eighty degrees Fahrenheit.

Centrifugal force, in combination with the gravity of the Moon's crust,
confined the internal lunar atmosphere to a blanket which we estimated at
about fifty miles in thickness over the inner surface of this buried world.
This atmosphere rarefies rapidly as one ascends the higher peaks, with the
result that these are constantly covered with perpetual snow and ice, sending
great glaciers down mighty gorges toward the central seas. It is this
condition which has probably prevented the atmosphere, confined as it is
within an almost solid sphere, from becoming superheated, through the
unthinkable ages that this condition must have existed. The Earth seasons are
reflected but slightly in the Moon, there being but a few degrees difference
between summer and winter. There are, however, periodic wind-storms, which
recur with greater or less regularity once each sidereal month, due, I
imagine, to the unequal distribution of crater openings through the crust of
the Moon, a fact which must produce an unequal absorption of heat at various
times and in certain localities. The natural circulation of the lunar
atmosphere, affected as it is by the constantly-changing volume and direction
of the sun's rays, as well as the great range of temperature between the
valleys and the ice-clad mountain peaks, produces frequent storms of greater
or less violence. High winds are accompanied by violent rains upon the lower
levels and blinding snowstorms among the barren heights above the vegetation
line. Rains which fall from low-hanging clouds are warm and pleasant; those
which come from high clouds are cold and disagreeable, yet however violent or
protracted the storm, the illumination remains practically constant—
there are never any dark, lowering days within the Moon, nor is there any
night.

OF course we did not reach all these conclusions in a few
moments, but I have given them here merely as the outcome of our deductions
following a considerable experience within the Moon. Several miles from the
ship rose foothills which climbed picturesquely toward the cloudy heights of
the loftier mountains behind them, and as we looked in the direction of these
latter, and then out across the forest, there was appreciable to us a
strangeness that at first we could not explain, but which we later discovered
was due to the fact that there was no horizon, the distance that one could
see being dependent solely upon one's power of vision. The general effect was
of being in the bottom of a tremendous bowl, with sides so high that one
might not see the top.

The ground about us was covered with rank vegetation of pale
hues—lavenders, violets, pinks and yellows predominating. Pink grasses
which became distinctly flesh-color at maturity grew in abundance, and the
stalks of most of the flowering plants were of this same peculiar hue. The
flowers themselves were often of highly complex form, of pale and delicate
shades, of great size and rare beauty. There were low shrubs that bore a
berry-like fruit, and many of the trees of the forest carried fruit of
considerable size and of a variety of forms and colors. Norton and Jay were
debating the possible edibility of some of these, but I gave orders that no
one was to taste them until we had had an opportunity to learn by analysis or
otherwise those varieties that were non-poisonous.

There was aboard the Barsoom a small laboratory equipped especially
for the purpose of analyzing the vegetable and mineral products of Mars
according to earthly standards, as well as other means of conducting research
work upon our sister planet. As we had sufficient food aboard for a period of
fifteen years, there was no immediate necessity for eating any of the lunar
fruit, but I was anxious to ascertain the chemical properties of the water
since the manufacture of this necessity was slow, laborious and expensive. I
therefore instructed West to take a sample from the stream and subject it to
laboratory tests, and the others I ordered below for sleep.

They were rather more keen to set out upon a tour of exploration, nor
could I blame them, but as none of us had slept for rather better than
forty-eight hours I considered it of importance that we recuperate our vital
forces against whatever contingency might confront us in this unknown world.
Here were air, water and vegetation—the three prime requisites for the
support of animal life—and so I judged it only reasonable to assume
that animal life existed within the Moon. If it did exist, it might be in
some highly predatory form, against which it would tax our resources to the
utmost to defend ourselves. I insisted, therefore, upon each of us obtaining
his full quota of sleep before venturing from the safety of the
Barsoom.

We already had seen evidences of life of a low order, both reptile and
insect, or perhaps it would be better to describe the latter as flying
reptiles, as they later proved to be—toad-like creatures with the wings
of bats, that flitted among the fleshy boughs of the forest, emitting
plaintive cries. Upon the ground near the ship we had seen but a single
creature, though the moving grasses had assured us that there were others
there aplenty. The thing that we had seen had been plainly visible to us all
and may be best described as a five-foot snake with four frog-like legs, and
a flat head with a single eye in the center of the forehead. Its legs were
very short, and as it moved along the ground it both wriggled like a true
snake and scrambled with its four short legs. We watched it to the edge of
the river and saw it dive in and disappear beneath the surface.

"Silly looking beggar," remarked Jay, "and devilish unearthly."

"I don't know about that," I returned. "He possessed nothing visible to us
that we are not familiar with on Earth. Possibly he was assembled after a
slightly different plan from any Earth creature; but aside from that he is
familiar to us, even to his amphibious habits. And these flying toads, too;
what of them? I see nothing particularly remarkable about them. We have just
as strange forms on Earth, though nothing precisely like these. Mars, too,
has forms of animal and vegetable life peculiar to herself, yet nothing the
existence of which would be impossible upon Earth, and she has, as well,
human forms almost identical with our own. You see what I am trying to
suggest?"

"Yes, sir," replied Jay; "that there may be human life similar to our own
within the Moon."

"I see no reason to be surprised should we discover human beings here," I
said; "nor would I be surprised to find a reasoning creature of some widely
divergent form. I would be surprised, however, were we to find no form
analogous to the human race of Earth."

"That is, a dominant race with well developed reasoning faculties?" asked
Norton.

"Yes, and it is because of this possibility that we must have sleep and
keep ourselves fit, since we may not know the disposition of these creatures,
provided they exist, nor the reception that they will accord us. And so, Mr.
Norton, if you will get a receptacle and fetch some water from the stream we
will leave Mr. West on watch to make his analysis and the rest of us will
turn in."

Norton went below and returned with a glass jar in which to carry the
water and the balance of us lined the rail with our service revolvers ready
in the event of an emergency as he went over the side. None of us had walked
more than a few steps since coming on deck after our landing. I had noticed a
slightly peculiar sensation of buoyancy, but in view of the numerous other
distractions had given it no consideration. As Norton reached the bottom of
the ladder and set foot on lunar soil I called to him to make haste. Just in
front of him was a low bush and beyond it lay the river, about thirty feet
distant. In response to my command he gave a slight leap to clear the bush
and, to our amazement as well as to his own consternation, rose fully
eighteen feet into the air, cleared a space of fully thirty-five feet and lit
in the river.

Norton cleared a space of fully thirty-five feet and lit
in the river.

"Come!" I said to the others, wishing them to follow me to Norton's aid,
and sprang for the rail; but I was too impetuous. I never touched the rail,
but cleared it by many feet, sailed over the intervening strip of land, and
disappeared beneath the icy waters of the lunar river. How deep it was I do
not know; but at least it was over my head. I found myself in a sluggish, yet
powerful current, the water seeming to move much as a heavy oil moves to the
gravity of Earth. As I came to the surface I saw Norton swimming strongly for
the bank and a second later Jay emerged not far from me. I glanced quickly
around for West, whom I immediately perceived was still on the deck of the
Barsoom, where, of course, it was his duty to remain, since it was his
watch.

The moment that I realized that my companions were all safe I could not
repress a smile, and then Norton and Jay commenced to laugh, and we were
still laughing when we pulled ourselves from the stream a short distance
below the ship.

"Get your sample, Norton?" I asked.

"I still have the container, sir," he replied, and indeed he had clung to
it throughout his surprising adventure, as Jay and I, fortunately, had clung
to our revolvers. Norton removed the cap from the bottle and dipped the
latter into the stream. Then he looked up at me and smiled.

"I think we have beaten Mr. West to it, sir," he said. "It seems like very
good water, sir, and when I struck it I was so surprised that I must have
swallowed at least a quart."

"I tested a bit of it myself," I replied. "As far as we three are
concerned, Mr. West's analysis will not interest us if he discovers that
lunar water contains poisonous matter, but for his own protection we will let
him proceed with his investigation."

"It is strange, sir," remarked Jay, "that none of us thought of the
natural effects of the lesser gravity of the Moon. We have discussed the
matter upon many occasions, as you will recall, yet when we faced the actual
condition we gave it no consideration whatsoever."

"I am glad," remarked Norton, "that I did not attempt to jump the
river—I should have been going yet. Probably landed on the top of some
mountain."

As we approached the ship I saw West awaiting us with a most serious and
dignified mien; but when he saw that we were all laughing he joined us,
telling us after we reached the deck, that he had never witnessed a more
surprising or ludicrous sight in his life.

We went below then and after closing and securing the hatch, three of us
repaired to our bunks, while West with the sample of lunar water went to the
laboratory. I was very tired and slept soundly for some ten hours, for it was
the middle of Norton's watch before I awoke.

The only important entry upon the log since I had turned in was West's
report of the results of his analysis of the water, which showed that it was
not only perfectly safe for drinking purposes but unusually pure, with an
extremely low saline content.

I had been up about a half an hour when West came to me, saying that
Orthis requested permission to speak to me. Twenty-four hours before, I had
been fairly well determined to bring Orthis to trial and execute him
immediately, but that had been when I had felt that we were all hopelessly
doomed to death on his account. Now, however, with a habitable world beneath
our feet, surrounded by conditions almost identical with those which existed
upon Earth, our future looked less dark, and because of this I found myself
in a quandary as to what course of action to pursue in the matter of Orthis'
punishment. That he deserved death there was no question, but when men have
faced death so closely and escaped, temporarily at least, I believe that they
must look upon life as a most sacred thing and be less inclined to deny life
to others. Be that as it may, the fact remains that having sent for Orthis in
compliance with his request I received him in a mood of less stern and
uncompromising justice than would have been the case twenty-four hours
previous. When he had been brought to my stateroom and stood before me, I
asked him what he wished to say to me. He was entirely sober now and bore
himself with a certain dignity that was not untinged with humility.

"I do not know what has occurred since I was put in irons, as you have
instructed the others not to speak to me or answer my questions. I know, of
course, however, that the ship is at rest and that pure air is circulating
through it, and I have heard the hatch raised and footsteps upon the upper
deck. From the time that has elapsed since I was placed under arrest I know
that the only planet upon which we have had time to make a landing is the
Moon, and so I may guess that we are upon the surface of the Moon. I have had
ample time to reflect upon my actions. That I was intoxicated is, of course,
no valid excuse, and yet it is the only excuse that I have to offer. I beg,
sir, that you will accept the assurance of my sincere regret of the
unforgivable things that I have done, and that you will permit me to live and
atone for my wrongdoings, for if we are indeed upon the surface of the Moon
it may be that we can ill spare a single member of our small party. I throw
myself, sir, entirely upon your mercy, but beg that you will give me another
chance."

Realizing my natural antipathy for the man and wishing most sincerely not
to be influenced against him because of it, I let his plea influence me
against my better judgement with the result that I promised him that I would
give the matter careful consideration, discuss it with the others, and be
influenced largely by their decision. I had him returned to his stateroom
then and sent for the other members of the party. With what fidelity my
memory permitted I repeated to them in Orthis' own words his request for
mercy.

"And now, gentlemen," I said, "I would like to have your opinions in the
matter. It is of as much moment to you as to me, and under the peculiar
circumstances in which we are placed, I prefer in so far as possible to defer
wherever I can to the judgment of the majority. Whatever my final action, the
responsibility will be mine. I do not seek to divide that, and it may be that
I shall act contrary to the wishes of the majority in some matters, but in
this one I really wish to abide by your desires because of the personal
antagonism that has existed between Lieutenant Commander Orthis and myself
since boyhood."

I knew that none of these men liked Orthis, yet I knew, too, that they
would approach the matter in a spirit of justice tempered by mercy, and so I
was not at all surprised when one after another they assured me that they
would be glad if I would give the man another opportunity.

Again I sent for Orthis, and after explaining to him that inasmuch as he
had given me his word to commit no disloyal act in the future I should place
him on parole, his eventual fate depending entirely upon his own conduct;
then had his irons removed and told him that be was to return to duty. He
seemed most grateful and assured us that we would never have cause to regret
our decision. Would to God that instead of freeing him I had drawn my
revolver and shot him through the heart!

We were all pretty well rested up by this time, and I undertook to do a
little exploring in the vicinity of the ship, going out for a few hours each
day with a single companion, leaving the other three upon the ship. I never
went far afield at first, confining myself to an area some five miles in
diameter between the crater and the river. Upon both sides of the latter,
below where the ship had landed, was a considerable extent of forest. I
ventured into this upon several occasions and once, just about time for us to
return to the ship, I came upon a well marked trail in the dust of which were
the imprints of three-toed feet. Each day I set the extreme limit of time
that I would absent myself from the ship with instructions that two of those
remaining aboard should set out in search of me and my companion, should we
be absent over the specified number of hours. Therefore, I was unable to
follow the trail the day upon which I discovered it, since we had scarcely
more than enough time to make a brief examination of the tracks if we were to
reach the ship within the limit I had allowed.

It chanced that Norton was with me that day and in his quiet way was much
excited by our discovery. We were both positive that the tracks had been made
by a four-footed animal, something that weighed between two hundred and fifty
and three hundred pounds. How recently it had been used we could scarcely
estimate, but the trail itself gave every indication of being a very old one.
I was sorry that we had no time to pursue the animal which had made the
tracks but determined that upon the following day I should do so. We reached
the ship and told the others what we had discovered. They were much
interested and many and varied were the conjectures as to the nature of the
animals whose tracks we had seen.

After Orthis had been released from arrest Norton had asked permission to
return to the former's stateroom. I had granted his request and the two had
been very much together ever since. I could not understand Norton's apparent
friendship for this man, and it almost made me doubt the young ensign. One
day I was to learn the secret of this intimacy, but at the time I must
confess that it puzzled me considerably and bothered me not a little, for I
had taken a great liking to Norton and disliked to see him so much in the
company of a man of Orthis' character.

Each of the men had now accompanied me on my short excursions of
exploration with the exception of Orthis. Inasmuch as his parole had fully
reinstated him among us in theory at least, I could not very well
discriminate against him and leave him alone of all the others aboard ship as
I pursued my investigations of the surrounding country.

The day following our discovery of the trail, I accordingly invited him to
accompany me, and we set out early, each armed with a revolver and a rifle. I
advised West, who automatically took command of the ship during my absence,
that we might be gone considerably longer than usual and that he was to feel
no apprehension and send out no relief party unless we should be gone a full
twenty-four hours, as I wished to follow up the spoor we had discovered,
learn where the trail led and have a look at the animal that had made it.

I led the way directly to the spot at which we had found the trail, about
four miles down river from the ship and apparently in the heart of dense
forest.

The flying-toads darted from tree to tree about us, uttering their weird
and plaintive cries, while upon several occasions, as in the past, we saw
four-legged snakes such as we had seen upon the day of our landing. Neither
the toads nor the snakes bothered us, seeming only to wish to avoid us.

Just before we came upon the trail, both Orthis and I thought we heard the
sound of footsteps ahead of us—something similar to that made by a
galloping animal—and when we came upon the trail a moment later it was
apparent to both of us that dust was hanging in the air and slowly settling
on the vegetation nearby. Something, therefore, had passed over the trail but
a minute or two before we arrived. A brief examination of the spoor revealed
the fact that it had been made by a three-toed animal whose direction of
travel was to our right and toward the river, at this point some half mile
from us.

I could not help but feel considerable inward excitement, and I was sorry
that one of the others had not been with me, for I never felt perfectly at
ease with Orthis. I had done considerable hunting in various parts of the
world where wild game still exists but I had never experienced such a thrill
as I did at the moment that I undertook to stalk this unknown beast upon an
unknown trail in an unknown world. Where the trail would lead me, what I
should find upon it, I never knew from one step to another, and the lure of
it because of that was tremendous. The fact that there were almost nine
million square miles of this world for me to explore, and that no Earth Man
had ever before set foot upon an inch of it, helped a great deal to
compensate for the fact that I knew I could never return to my own Earth
again.

The trail led to the edge of the river which at this point was very wide
and shallow. Upon the opposite shore, I could see the trail again directly
opposite and I knew therefore that this was a ford. Without hesitating, I
stepped into the river, and as I did so I glanced to my left to see
stretching before me as far as my eye could reach a vast expanse of water.
Here then I had stumbled upon the mouth of the river and, beyond, a lunar
sea.

The land upon the opposite side of the river was rolling and
grass-covered, but in so far as I could see, almost treeless. As I turned my
eyes from the sea back toward the opposite shore, I saw that which caused me
to halt in my tracks, cock my rifle and issue a cautious warning to Orthis
for silence, for there before us upon a knoll stood a small horse-like
animal.

It would have been a long shot, possibly five hundred yards, and I should
have preferred to have come closer but there was no chance to do that now,
for we were in the middle of the river in plain view of the animal which
stood there watching us intently. I had scarcely raised my rifle, however,
ere it wheeled and disappeared over the edge of the knoll upon which it had
been standing.

"What did it look like to you, Orthis?" I asked my companion.

"It was a good ways off," he replied, "and I only just got my binoculars
on it as it disappeared, but I could have sworn that it wore a harness of
some sort. It was about the size of a small pony, I should say, but it didn't
have a pony's head."

"It appeared tailless to me," I remarked.

"I saw no tail," said Orthis, "nor any ears or horns. It was a devilish
funny looking thing. I don't understand it. There was something about it
—" he paused. "My God, sir, there was something about it that looked
human."

"It gave me that same impression, too, Orthis, and I doubt if I should
have fired had I been able to cover it, for just at the instant that I threw
my rifle to my shoulder I felt that same strange impression that you mention.
There was something human about the thing."

As we talked, we had been moving on across the ford which we found an
excellent one, the water at no time coming to our waists while the current
was scarcely appreciable. Finally, we stepped out on the opposite shore and a
moment later, far to the left, we caught another glimpse of the creature that
we had previously seen. It stood upon a distant knoll, evidently watching
us.

Orthis and I raised our binoculars to our eyes almost simultaneously and
for a full minute we examined the thing as it stood there, neither of us
speaking, and then we dropped our glasses and looked at each other.

"What do you make of it, sir?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know what to make of it, Orthis," I replied;
"but I should swear that I was looking straight into a human face, and yet
the body was that of a quadruped."

"There can be no doubt of it, sir," he replied, "and this time one could
see the harness and the clothing quite plainly. It appears to have some sort
of a weapon hanging at its left side. Did you notice it, sir?"

"Yes, I noticed it, but I don't understand it."

A moment longer we stood watching the creature until it turned and
galloped off, disappearing behind the knoll on which it had stood. We decided
to follow the trail which led in a southerly direction, feeling reasonably
assured that we were more likely to come in contact with the creature or
others similar to it upon the trail than off of it. We had gone but a short
distance when the trail approached the river again, which puzzled me at the
time somewhat, as we had gone apparently directly away from the river since
we had left the ford, but after we had gone some mile and a half, we found
the explanation, since we came again to another ford while on beyond we saw
the river emptying into the sea and realized that we had crossed an island
lying in the mouth of the river.

I was hesitating as to whether to make the crossing and continue along the
trail or to go back and search the island for the strange creature we had
discovered. I rather hoped to capture it, but since I had finally descried
its human face, I had given up all intention of shooting it unless I found
that it would be necessary to do so in self defense. As I stood there, rather
undecided, our attention was attracted back to the island by a slight noise,
and as we looked in the direction of the disturbance, we saw five of the
creatures eyeing us from high land a quarter of a mile away. When they saw
that they were discovered they galloped boldly toward us. They had come a
short distance only, when they stopped again upon a high knoll, and then one
of them raised his face toward the sky and emitted a series of piercing
howls. Then they came on again toward us nor did they pause until they were
within fifty feet of us, when they came to a sudden halt.

OUR first view of the creatures proved beyond a question of
a doubt that they were in effect human quadrupeds. The faces were very broad,
much broader than any human faces that I have ever seen, but their profiles
were singularly like those of the ancient North American Indians. Their
bodies were covered with a garment with short legs that ended above the
knees, and which was ornamented about the collar and also about the bottom of
each leg with a rather fanciful geometric design. About the barrel of each
was a surcingle and connected with it by a backstrap was something analogous
to a breeching in Earth horse harness. Where the breeching straps crossed on
either side, was a small circular ornament, and there was a strap resembling
a trace leading from this forward to the collar, passing beneath a quite
large, circular ornament, which appeared to be supported by the surcingle.
Smaller straps, running from these two ornaments upon the left side,
supported a sheath in which was carried what appeared to be a knife of some
description. And upon the right side a short spear was carried in a boot,
similarly suspended from the two ornaments, much as the carbine of our
ancient Earth cavalry was carried. The spear, which was about six feet long,
was of peculiar design, having a slender, well-shaped head, from the base of
which a crescent-shaped arm curved backward from one side, while upon the
side opposite the crescent was a short, sharp point at right angles to the
median line of the weapon.

For a moment we stood there eyeing each other, and from their appearance I
judged that they were as much interested in us as we were in them. I noticed
that they kept looking beyond us, across the river toward the mainland.
Presently, I turned for a glance in the same direction, and far away beyond a
thin forest I saw a cloud of dust which seemed to be moving rapidly toward
us. I called Orthis' attention to it.

"Reinforcements," I said. "That is what that fellow was calling for when
he screamed. I think we had better try conclusions with the five before any
more arrive. We will try to make friends first, but if we are unsuccessful we
must fight our way back toward the ship at once."

Accordingly, I stepped forward toward the five with a smile upon my lips
and my hand outstretched. I knew of no other way in which to carry to them an
assurance of our friendliness. At the same time, I spoke a few words in
English in a pleasant and conciliatory tone. Although I knew that my words
would be meaningless to them, I hoped that they would catch their intent from
my inflection.

Immediately upon my advance, one of the creatures turned and spoke to
another, indicating to us for the first time that they possessed a spoken
language. Then he turned and addressed me in a tongue that was, of course,
utterly meaningless to me; but if he had misinterpreted my action, I could
not misunderstand that which accompanied his words, for he reared up on his
hind feet and simultaneously drew his spear and a wicked-looking,
short-bladed sword or dagger, his companions at the same time following his
example, until I found myself confronted by an array of weapons backed by
scowling, malignant faces. Their leader uttered a single word which I
interpreted as meaning halt, and so I halted.

Their leader uttered a single word which I interpreted
as meaning halt, and so I halted.

I pointed to Orthis and to myself, and then to the trail along which we
had come, and then back in the direction of the ship. I was attempting to
tell them that we wished to go back whence we had come. Then I turned to
Orthis.

"Draw your revolver," I said, "and follow me. If they interfere we shall
have to shoot them. We must get out of this before the others arrive."

As we turned to retrace our steps along the trail, the five dropped upon
all fours, still holding their weapons in their fore-paws, and galloped
quickly to a position blocking our way.

"Stand aside," I yelled, and fired my pistol above their heads. From their
actions, I judged that they had never before heard the report of a firearm,
for they stood an instant in evident surprise, and then wheeled and galloped
off for about a hundred yards, where they turned and halted again, facing us.
They were still directly across our trail, and Orthis and I moved forward
determinedly toward them. They were talking among themselves, and at the same
time watching us closely.

When we had arrived at a few yards from them, I again threatened them with
my pistol, but they stood their ground, evidently reassured by the fact that
the thing that I held in my hand, though it made a loud noise, inflicted no
injury. I did not want to shoot one of them if I could possibly avoid it, so
I kept on toward them, hoping that they would make way for us; but instead
they reared again upon their hind feet and threatened us with their
weapons.

Just how formidable their weapons were, I could not, of course, determine;
but I conjectured that if they were at all adept in its use, their spear
might be a very formidable thing indeed. I was within a few feet of them now,
and their attitude was more war-like than ever, convincing me that they had
no intention of permitting us to pass peacefully.

Their features, which I could now see distinctly, were hard, fierce, and
cruel in the extreme. Their leader seemed to be addressing me, but, of
course, I could not understand him; but when, at last, standing there upon
his hind feet, with evidently as much ease as I stood upon my two legs, he
carried his spear back in a particularly menacing movement, I realized that I
must act and act quickly.

I think the fellow was just on the point of launching his spear at me,
when I fired. The bullet struck him square between the eyes, and he dropped
like a log, without a sound. Instantly, the others wheeled again and galloped
away, this time evincing speed that was almost appalling, clearing spaces of
a hundred feet in a single bound, even though handicapped, as they must have
been, by the weapons which they clutched in their fore-paws.

A glance behind me showed the dust-cloud rapidly approaching the river,
upon the mainland, and calling to Orthis to follow me, I ran rapidly along
the trail which led back in the direction of the ship.

The four Moon creatures retreated for about half a mile, and then halted
and faced us. They were still directly in our line of retreat, and there they
stood for a moment, evidently discussing their plans. We were nearing them
rapidly, for we had discovered that we, too, could show remarkable speed,
when retarded by gravity only one-sixth of that of Earth. To clear forty feet
at a jump was nothing, our greatest difficulty lying in a tendency to leap to
too great heights, which naturally resulted in cutting down our horizontal
distance. As we neared the four, who had taken their stand upon the summit of
a knoll, I heard a great splashing in the river behind us, and turning, saw
that their reinforcements were crossing the ford, and would soon be upon us.
There appeared to be fully a hundred of them, and our case looked hopeless
indeed, unless we could manage to pass the four ahead of us, and reach the
comparative safety of the forest beyond the first ford.

"Commence firing, Orthis," I said. "Shoot to kill. Take the two at the
left as your targets, and I'll fire at the two at the right. We had better
halt and take careful aim, as we can't afford to waste ammunition."

We came to a stop about twenty-five yards from the foremost creature,
which is a long pistol shot; but they were standing still upon the crest of a
knoll, distinctly outlined against the sky, and were such a size as to
present a most excellent target. Our shots rang out simultaneously. The
creature at the left, at which Orthis had aimed, leaped high into the air,
and fell to the ground, where it lay kicking convulsively. The one at the
right uttered a piercing shriek, clutched at its breast, and dropped dead.
Then Orthis and I charged the remaining two, while behind us we heard loud
weird cries and the pounding of galloping feet. The two before us did not
retreat this time, but came to meet us, and again we halted and fired. This
time they were so close that we could not miss them, and the last of our
original lunar foemen lay dead before us.

We ran then, ran as neither of us had imagined human beings ever could
run. I know that I covered over fifty feet in many a leap, but by comparison
with the speed of the things behind us, we might have been standing still.
They fairly flew over the lavender sward, indicating that those, which we had
first seen, had at no time extended themselves in an effort to escape us. I
venture to say that some of them leaped fully three hundred feet at a time,
and now, at every bound, they emitted fierce and terrible yells, which I
assumed to be their war cry, intended to intimidate us.

"It's no use, Orthis," I said to my companion. "We might as well make our
stand here and fight it out. We cannot reach the ford. They are too fast for
us."

We stopped then, and faced them, and when they saw we were going to make a
stand, they circled and halted about a hundred yards distant, entirely
surrounding us. We had killed five of their fellows, and I knew we could hope
for no quarter. We were evidently confronted by a race of fierce and warlike
creatures, the appearance of which, at least, gave no indication of the finer
characteristics that are so much revered among humankind upon Earth. After a
good look at one of them, I could not imagine the creature harboring even the
slightest conception of the word mercy, and I knew that if we ever escaped
that fierce cordon, it would be by fighting our way through it.

"Come," I said to Orthis, "straight through for the ford," and turning
again in that direction, I started blazing away with my pistol as I walked
slowly along the trail. Orthis was at my side, and he, too, fired as rapidly
as I. Each time our weapons spoke, a Moon Man fell. And now, they commenced
to circle us at a run, much as the savage Indians of the western plains
circled the parked wagon trains of our long-gone ancestors in North America.
They hurled spears at us, but I think the sound of our revolvers and the
effect of the shots had to some measure unnerved them, for their aim was poor
and we were not, at any time, seriously menaced.

As we advanced slowly, firing, we made many hits, but I was horrified to
see that every time one of the creatures fell, the nearest of his companions
leaped upon him and cut his throat from ear to ear. Some of them had only to
fall to be dispatched by his fellows. A bullet from Orthis' weapon shattered
the hind leg of one of them, bringing him to the ground. It was, of course,
not a fatal wound, but the creature had scarcely gone down, when the nearest
to him sprang forward, and finished him. And thus we walked slowly toward the
ford, and I commenced to have hope that we might reach it and make our
escape. If our antagonists had been less fearless, I should have been certain
of it, but they seemed almost indifferent to their danger, evidently counting
upon their speed to give them immunity from our bullets. I can assure you
that they presented most difficult targets, moving as they did in great leaps
and bounds. It was probably more their number than our accuracy that
permitted us the hits we made.

We were almost at the ford when the circle suddenly broke, and then formed
a straight line parallel to us, the leader swinging his spear about his head,
grasping the handle at its extreme end. The weapon moved at great speed, in
an almost horizontal plane. I was wondering at the purpose of his action,
when I saw that three or four of those directly in the rear of him had
commenced to swing their spears in a similar manner. There was something
strangely menacing about it that filled me with alarm. I fired at the leader
and missed, and at the report of my pistol, a half dozen of them let go of
their swift whirling spears, and an instant later, I realized the purpose of
their strange maneuver; for the heavy weapons shot toward us, butts first,
with the speed of lightning, the crescent-like hooks catching us around a
leg, an arm and the neck, hurling us backward to the ground, and each time we
essayed to rise, we were struck again, until we finally lay there, bruised
and half stunned, and wholly at the mercy of our antagonists, who galloped
forward quickly, stripping our weapons from us. Those who had hurled their
spears at us recovered them, and then they all gathered about, examining us,
and jabbering among themselves,

Presently, the leader spoke to me, prodding me with the sharp point of his
spear. I took it that he wanted me to arise, and I tried to do so, but I was
pretty much all in and fell back each time I essayed to obey. Then he spoke
to two of his followers, who lifted me and laid me across the back of a
third. There I was fastened in a most uncomfortable position by means of
leather straps which were taken from various parts of the harnesses of
several of the creatures. Orthis was similarly lashed to another of them,
whereupon they moved slowly back in the direction from which they had come,
stopping, as they went, to collect the bodies of their dead, which were
strapped to the backs of others of their companions. The fellow upon whom I
rode had several well-defined gaits, one of which, a square trot, was the
acme of torture for me, since I was bruised and hurt and had been placed
across him face down, upon my belly; but inasmuch as this gait must have been
hard, too, upon him, while thus saddled with a burden, he used it but little,
for which I was tremendously thankful. When he changed to a single-foot,
which, fortunately for me, he often did, I was much less uncomfortable.

As we crossed the ford toward the mainland, it was with difficulty that I
kept from being drowned, since my head dragged in the water for a
considerable distance and I was mighty glad when we came out again on shore.
The thing that bore me was consistently inconsiderate of me, bumping me
against others, and against the bodies of their slain that were strapped to
the backs of his fellows. He was apparently quite tireless, as were the
others, and we often moved for what seemed many miles at a fast run. Of
course, my lunar weight was equivalent to only about thirty pounds on Earth
while our captors seemed fully as well-muscled as a small earthly horse, and
as we later learned, were capable of carrying heavy burdens.

How long we were on the march, I do not know, for where it is always
daylight and there is no sun nor other means of measuring time, one may only
guess at its duration, the result being influenced considerably by one's
mental and physical sensations during the period. Judged by these
considerations, then, we might have been on the trail for many hours, for I
was not only most uncomfortable in body, but in mind as well. However that
may be, I know only that it was a terrible journey; that we crossed rivers
twice after reaching the mainland, and came at last to our destination, amid
low hills, where there was a level, park-like space, dotted with weird trees.
Here the straps were loosened, and we were dumped upon the ground, more dead
than alive, and immediately surrounded by great numbers of creatures who were
identical with those who had captured us.

When I was finally able to sit up and look about, I saw that we were at
the threshold of a camp or village, consisting of a number of rectangular
huts, with high-peaked roofs, thatched or rather shingled, with the broad,
round leaves of the trees that grew about.

I saw that we were at the threshold of a camp or
village.

We saw now for the first time the females and the young. The former were
similar to the males, except that they were of lighter build, and they were
far more numerous. They had udders, with from four to six teats, and many of
them were followed by numerous progeny, several that I saw having as high as
six young in a litter. The young were naked, but the females wore a garment
similar to that worn by the males, except that it was less ornate, as was
their harness and other trappings. From the way the women and children rushed
upon us as we were unloaded in camp, I felt that they were going to tear us
to pieces, and I really believe they would have had not our captors prevented
it. Evidently the word was passed that we were not to be injured, for after
the first rush they contented themselves with examining us, and sometimes
feeling of us or our clothing, the while they discussed us, but with the
bodies of those who were slain, it was different, for when they discovered
these where they had been unloaded upon the ground, they fell upon them and
commenced to devour them, the warriors joining them in the gruesome and
terrible feast. Orthis and I understood now that they had cut the throats of
their fellows to let the blood, in anticipation of the repast to come.

As we came to understand them and the conditions under which they lived,
many things concerning them were explained. For example, at least two-thirds
of the young that are born are males, and yet there are only about one-sixth
as many adult males, as there are females. They are naturally carnivorous,
but with the exception of one other creature upon which they prey, there is
no animal in that part of the interior lunar world with which I am familiar,
that they may eat with safety. The flying-toad and the walking snake and the
other reptilia are poisonous, and they dare not eat them. The time had been,
I later learned, possibly, however, ages before, when many other animals
roamed the surface of the inner Moon, but all had become extinct except our
captors and another creature, of which we, at the time of our capture, knew
nothing, and these two preyed upon one another, while the species which was
represented by those into whose hands we had fallen, raided the tribes and
villages of their own kind for food, and ate their own dead, as we had
already seen. As it was the females to whom they must look for the production
of animal food, they did not kill these of their own species and never ate
the body of one. Enemy women of their own kind, whom they captured, they
brought to their villages, each warrior adding to his herd the individuals
that he captured. As only the males are warriors, and as no one will eat the
flesh of a female, the mortality among the males is, accordingly, extremely
high, accounting for the vastly greater number of adult females. The latter
are very well treated, as the position of a male in a community is dependent
largely upon the size of his herd.

The principal mortality among the females results from three
causes—raids by the other flesh-eating species which inhabit the inner
lunar world, quarrels arising from jealousy among themselves, and death while
bringing forth their young, especially during lean seasons when their
warriors have been defeated in battle and have been unable to furnish them
with flesh.

These creatures eat fruit and herbs and nuts as well as meat, but they do
not thrive well upon these things exclusively. Their existence, therefore, is
dependent upon the valor and ferocity of their males whose lives are spent in
making raids and forays against neighboring tribes and in defending their own
villages against invaders.

As Orthis and I sat watching the disgusting orgy of cannibalism about us,
the leader of the party that had captured us came toward us from the center
of the village, and speaking a single word, which I later learned meant
"come," he prodded us with his spear point until finally we staggered to our
feet. Repeating the word, then, he started back into the village.

"I guess he wants us to follow him, Orthis," I said. And so we fell in
behind the creature, which was evidently what he desired, for he nodded his
head, and stepped on in the direction that he had taken, which led toward a
very large hut—by far the largest in the village.

In the side of the hut presented to us there seemed to be but a single
opening, a large door covered by heavy hangings, which our conductor thrust
aside as we entered the interior with him. We found ourselves in a large
room, without any other opening whatsoever, save the doorway through which we
had entered, and over which the hanging had again been drawn, yet the
interior was quite light, though not so much so as outside, but there were no
means for artificial lighting apparent. The walls were covered with weapons
and with the skulls and other bones of creatures similar to our captors,
though Orthis and I both noticed a few skulls much narrower than the others
and which, from their appearance, might have been the human skulls of Earth
Men, though in discussing it later, we came to the conclusion that they were
the skulls of the females and the young of the species, whose faces are not
so wide as the adult male.

Lying upon a bed of grasses at the opposite side of the room was a large
male whose skin was of so much deeper lavender hue than the others that we
had seen, as to almost suggest a purple. The face, though badly disfigured by
scars, and grim and ferocious in the extreme, was an intelligent one, and the
instant that I looked into those eyes, I knew that we were in the presence of
a leader. Nor was I wrong, for this was the chief or king of the tribe into
whose clutches Fate had thrown us.

Lying upon a bed of grasses at the opposite side of the
room was a large male.

A few words passed between the two, and then the chief arose and came
toward us. He examined us very critically, our clothing seeming to interest
him tremendously. He tried to talk with us, evidently asking us questions,
and seemed very much disgusted when it became apparent to him that we could
not understand him, nor he us, for Orthis and I spoke to one another several
times, and once or twice addressed him. He gave some instructions to the
fellow who had brought us, and we were taken out again, and to another hut,
to which there was presently brought a portion of the carcass of one of the
creatures we had killed before we were captured. I could not eat any of it,
however, and neither could Orthis; and after a while, by signs and gestures,
we made them understand that we wished some other kind of food, with the
result that a little later, they brought us fruit and vegetables, which were
more palatable and, as we were to discover later, sufficiently nutritious to
carry us along and maintain our strength.

I had become thirsty, and by simulating drinking, I finally succeeded in
making plain to them my desire in that direction, with the result that they
led us out to a little stream which ran through the village, and there we
quenched our thirst.

We were still very weak and sore from the manhandling we had received, but
we were both delighted to discover that we were not seriously injured, nor
were any of our bones broken.

SHORTLY after we arrived at the village, they took away our
watches, our pocket-knives, and everything that we possessed of a similar
nature, and which they considered as curiosities. The chief wore Orthis'
wristwatch above one fore-paw and mine above the other, but as he did not
know how to wind them, nor the purpose for which they were intended, they did
him or us no good. The result was, however, that it was now entirely
impossible for us to measure time in any way, and I do not know, even to this
day, how long we were in this strange village. We ate when we were hungry,
and slept when we were tired. It was always daylight; and it seemed that
there were always raiding parties going out or returning, so that flesh was
plentiful, and we became rather reconciled to our fate, in so far as the
immediate danger of being eaten was concerned, but why they kept us alive, as
we had slain so many of their fellows, I could not understand.

It must have been immediately after we arrived that they made an attempt
to teach us their language. Two females were detailed for this duty. We were
given unlimited freedom within certain bounds, which were well indicated by
the several sentries which constantly watched from the summit of hills
surrounding the village. Past these we could not go, nor do I know that we
had any particular desire to do so, since we realized only too well that
there would be little chance of our regaining the ship should we escape the
village, inasmuch as we had not the remotest idea in what direction it
lay.

Our one hope lay in learning their language, and then utilizing our
knowledge in acquiring some definite information as to the surrounding
country and the location of the Barsoom.

It did not seem to take us very long to learn their tongue, though, of
course, I realize that it may really have been months. Almost before we knew
it, we were conversing freely with our captors. When I say freely, it is
possible that I exaggerate a trifle, for though we could understand them
fairly well, it was with difficulty that we made ourselves understood, yet we
managed it some way, handicapped as we were by the peculiarities of the most
remarkable language of which I have any knowledge.

It is a very difficult language to speak, and as a written language, would
be practically impossible. For example, there is their word gu-e-ho, for
which Orthis and I discovered twenty-seven separate and distinct meanings,
and that there are others I have little or no doubt. Their speech is more
aptly described as song, the meaning of each syllable being governed by the
note in which it is sung. They speak in five notes, which we may describe as
A, B, C, D and E. Gu sung in A means something radically different from gu
sung in E, and again if gu is sung in A, followed by e in C, it means
something other than if gu had been sung in D followed by e in A.

Fortunately for us, there are no words of over three syllables, and most
of them consist of only one or two, or we should have been entirely lost. The
resulting speech, however, is extremely beautiful, and Orthis used to say
that if he closed his eyes, he could imagine himself living constantly in
grand opera.

The chief's name, as we learned, was Ga-va-go; the name of the tribe or
village was No-vans, while the race to which they belonged was known as
Va-gas.

When I felt that I had mastered the language sufficiently well to make
myself at least partially understood, I asked to speak to Ga-va-go, and
shortly thereafter, I was taken to him.

"You have learned our speech?" he asked.

I nodded in the affirmative. "I have," I said, "and I have come to ask why
we are held captives and what you intend to do with us. We did not come to
seek a quarrel with you. We wish only to be friends, and to be allowed to go
our way in peace."

"What manner of creature are you," he asked, "and where do you come
from?"

I asked him if he had ever heard of the Sun or the stars or the other
planets or any worlds outside his own, and he replied that he had not, and
that there were no such things.

"But there are, Ga-va-go," I said, "and I and my companion are from
another world, far, far outside your own. An accident brought us here. Give
us back our weapons, and let us go."

He shook his head negatively.

"Where you come from, do you eat one another?" he asked.

"No," I replied, "we do not."

"Why?" he asked, and I saw his eyes narrow as he awaited my reply.

Was it mental telepathy or just luck that put the right answer in my
mouth, for somehow, intuitively, I seemed to grasp what was in the creature's
mind.

"Our flesh is poison," I said, "those who eat it die."

He looked at me then for a long time, with an expression upon his face
which I could not interpret. It may have been that he doubted my word, or
again, it may have been that my reply confirmed his suspicion, I do not know;
but presently he asked me another question.

"Are there many like you in the land where you live?"

"Millions upon millions," I replied.

"And what do they eat?"

"They eat fruits and vegetables and the flesh of animals," I answered.

"What animals?" he asked.

"I have seen no animals here like them," I replied, "but there are many
kinds unlike us, so that we do not have to eat flesh of our own race."

"Then you have all the flesh that you want?"

"All that we can eat," I replied. "We raise these animals for their
flesh."

"Where is your country?" he demanded. "Take me to it."

I smiled. "I cannot take you to it," I said. "It is upon another
world."

It was quite evident that he did not believe me, for he scowled at me
ferociously.

"Do you wish to die?" he demanded.

I told him that I had no such longing.

"Then you will lead me to your country," he said, "where there is plenty
of flesh for everyone. You may think about it until I send for you again.
Go!" And thus he dismissed me. Then he sent for Orthis, but what Orthis told
him, I never knew exactly, for he would not tell me, and as our relations,
even in our captivity, were far from friendly, I did not urge him to any
confidences. I had occasion to notice, however, that from that time Ga-va-go
indicated a marked preference for Orthis, and the latter was often called to
his hut.

I was momentarily expecting to be summoned in to Ga-va-go's presence, and
learn my fate, when he discovered that I could not lead him to my country,
where flesh was so plentiful. But at about this time we broke camp, and in
the press of other matters, he evidently neglected to take any further
immediate action in my case, or at least, so I thought, until I later had
reason to suspect that he felt that he need no longer depend upon me to lead
him to this land of milk and honey.

The Va-gas are a nomadic race, moving hither and thither, either as they
are pressed by some foes, or till their victories have frightened away the
other tribes from their vicinity, in either of which events, they march in
search of fresh territory. The move that we made now was necessitated by the
fact that all the other tribes nearby had fled before the ferocity of the
No-vans, whose repeated and successful raids had depleted the villages of
their neighbors and filled them with terror.

The breaking of camp was a wonderfully simple operation. All their few
belongings, consisting of extra clothing, trappings, weapons, and their
treasured skulls and bones of victims, were strapped to the backs of the
women. Orthis and I each bestrode a warrior detailed by Ga-va-go for the
purpose of transporting us, and we filed out of the village, leaving the huts
behind.

Ga-va-go, with a half-dozen warriors, galloped far ahead. Then came a
strong detachment of warriors, with the women folks behind them, another
detachment of warriors following in the rear of the women and children, while
others rode upon either flank. A mile or so in the rear, came three warriors,
and there were two or three scattered far out on either flank. Thus we moved,
thoroughly protected against surprise, regulating our speed by that of the
point with which Ga-va-go traveled.

Because of the women and the children, we moved more slowly than warriors
do when on the march alone, when they seldom, if ever, travel slower than a
trot, and more generally, at a fast gallop. We moved along a well-worn trail,
passing several deserted villages, from which the prey of the No-vans had
fled. We crossed many rivers, for the lunar world is well watered. We skirted
several lakes, and at one point of high ground, I saw, far at our left, the
waters of what appeared to be a great ocean.

There was never a time when Orthis and I were not plentifully supplied
with food, for there is an abundance of it growing throughout all the
territory we crossed, but the No-vans had been without flesh for several days
and were, in consequence, mad with hunger, as the fruits and vegetables which
they ate seemed not to satisfy them at all.

We were moving along at a brisk trot when, without warning, we were struck
by a sudden gust of wind that swept, cold and refreshing, down from some icy
mountain fastness. The effect upon the No-vans was electrical. I would not
have had to understand their language to realize that they were terrified.
They looked apprehensively about and increased their speed as though
endeavoring to overtake Ga-va-go, who was now far ahead with the point. A
moment later a dash of rain struck us, and then it was every man for himself
and the devil take the hindmost, as they broke into a wild stampede to place
themselves close to their chief. Their hysterical flight was like the
terrorized rush of wild cattle. They jostled and tripped one another, and
stumbled and fell and were trampled upon, in their haste to escape.

Old Ga-va-go had stopped with his point, and was waiting for us. Those who
accompanied him seemed equally terrified with the rest, but evidently they
did not dare run until Ga-va-go gave the word. I think, however, that they
all felt safer when they were close to him, for they had a great deal of
confidence in him, yet they were still pretty badly frightened, and it would
not have taken much to have set them off again into another rout. Ga-va-go
waited until the last of the rearguard straggled in, and then he set off
directly toward the mountains, the entire tribe moving in a compact mass,
though they might have fallen easy prey to an ambush or any sudden attack.
They knew, however, what I half guessed, that knowing that their enemies were
as terrified of the storm as they, there was little danger of their being
attacked—none whatever, in fact.

We came at last to a hillside covered with great trees which offered some
protection from both the wind and the rain, which had now arisen to the
proportion of a hurricane.

As we came to a halt, I slipped from the back of the warrior who had been
carrying me, and found myself beside one of the women who had taught Orthis
and me the language of the Va-gas.

"Why is everyone so terrified?" I asked her.

"It is Zo-al," she whispered, fearfully. "He is angry."

"Who is Zo-al?" I asked.

She looked at me in wide-eyed astonishment. "Who is Zo-al!" she repeated.
"They told me that you said that you came from another world, and I can well
believe it, when you ask, who is Zo-al?"

"Well, who is he?" I insisted.

"He is a great beast," she whispered. "He is everywhere. He lives in all
the great holes in the ground, and when he is angry, he comes forth and makes
the water fall and the air run away. We know that there is no water up
there," and she pointed toward the sky. "But when Zo-al is angry, he makes
water fall from where there is no water, so mighty is Zo-al, and he makes the
air to run away so that the trees fall before it as it rushes past, and huts
are knocked flat or carried high above the ground. And then, O terror of
terrors, he makes a great noise, before which mighty warriors fall upon the
ground and cover up their ears. We have angered Zo-al, and he is punishing
us, and I do not dare to ask him not to send the big noise."

It was at that instant that there broke upon my ears the most terrific
detonation that I have ever heard. So terrific was it that I thought my ear
drums had burst, and simultaneously, a great ball of fire seemed to come
rolling down from the mountain heights above us.

The woman, covering her ears, shuddered, and when she saw the ball of
fire, she voiced a piercing shriek.

"The light that devours!" she cried. "When that comes too, it is the end,
for then is Zo-al mad with rage."

The ground shook to the terrifying noise, and though the ball of fire did
not pass close to us, still could I feel the heat of it even as it went by at
a distance, leaving a trail of blackened and smoking vegetation in its rear.
What flames there were, the torrential rain extinguished almost immediately.
It must have traveled about ten miles, down toward the sea, across rolling
hills and level valleys, when suddenly it burst, the explosion being followed
by a report infinitely louder than that which I had first heard. An
earthquake could scarce have agitated the ground more terrifyingly than did
this peal of lunar thunder.

I had witnessed my first lunar electrical storm, and I did not wonder that
the inhabitants of this strange world were terrified by it. They attribute
these storms, as they do all their troubles, to Zo-al, a great beast, which
is supposed to dwell in the depth of the lunar craters, the lower ends of
which open into the interior lunar world. As we cowered there among the
trees, I wondered if they were not afraid that the wind would blow the forest
down and crush them, and I asked the woman who stood beside me.

"Yes," she said, "that often happens, but more often does it happen that
if one is caught in a clearing, the air that runs away picks him up and
carries him along to drop him from a great height upon the hard ground. The
trees bend before they break, and those who watch are warned, and they escape
destruction if they are quick. When the wind that runs seizes one, there is
no escape."

"It seems to me," I said, "that it would have been safer if Ga-va-go had
led us into one of those sheltered ravines," and I indicated a gorge in the
hillside at our right. "No," she said, "Ga-va-go is wise. He led us to the
safest spot. We are sheltered from the air that runs away, and perhaps a
little from the light that devours, nor can the waters that drown, reach us
here, for presently they will fill that ravine full."

Nor was she wrong. Rushing down from the hillside, the water poured in
torrents into the ravine, and presently, though it must have been twenty or
thirty feet deep, it was filled almost to overflowing. Whoever had sought
refuge there, would have been drowned and washed away to the big ocean far
below. It was evident that Ga-va-go had not been actuated solely by blind
terror, though I came to know that he must have felt terror, for these
terrible electrical storms alone can engender it in the breasts of these
fearless and ferocious people.

The storm must have lasted for a considerable time; how long, of course, I
do not know, but some idea of its duration may be gained by the fact that I
became hungry and ate of the fruit of the trees, which sheltered us, at least
six times, and slept twice. We were soaked to the skin and very cold, for the
rain evidently came from a great altitude. During the entire storm, the
No-vans scarcely moved from their positions beneath the trees, with their
backs toward the storm, where they stood with lowered heads like cattle. We
experienced twelve detonations of the ground-shaking thunder, and witnessed
six manifestations of the light that devours. Trees had fallen all about us,
and as far as we could see, the grasses lay flat and matted upon the ground.
They told me that storms of the severity of this were infrequent, though rain
and wind, accompanied by electrical manifestations, might be expected at any
season of the year—I use that expression from habit, for one can
scarcely say that there are any well-marked seasonal changes within the Moon
that could indicate corresponding divisions of time as upon the Earth. From
what I was able to gather from observation and from questioning the Va-gas,
lunar vegetation reproduces itself entirely independent of any seasonal
restrictions, the frequency and temperature of the rains having, seemingly,
the greatest influence in the matter. A period of drought and cold rains
retards growth and germination, while frequent warm rains have an opposite
effect, the result being that you find vegetation of the same variety in all
stages of development, growing side by side—blossoms upon one tree,
fruit upon another, and the dry seed-pods upon a third. Not even, therefore,
by the growth of plant life, might one measure time within the Moon, and the
period of gestation among the Va-gas is similarly irregular, being affected
by the physical condition of the female as well as by climatic conditions, I
imagine. When the tribe is well-fed, and the weather warm, the warriors
victorious, and the minds of the women at peace, they bring forth their young
in an incredibly short period. On the other hand, a period of cold, or of
hunger, and of long marches, following defeat, induces an opposite result. It
seems to me that the females nurse their young for a very short period of
time, for they grow rapidly, and as soon as their molars are through, and
they can commence eating meat, they are weaned. They are devilish little
rascals, their youthful exuberance finding its outlet in acts of fiendish
cruelty. As they are not strong enough to inflict their tortures on adults
they perpetrate them upon one another, with the result that the weaker are
often killed, after they are weaned and have left the protection of their
savage mothers. Of course, they tried to play some of their fiendish tricks
on Orthis and myself, but after we had knocked a few of them down, they left
us severely alone.

During the storm, they huddled, shivering and cold, against the adults.
Possibly I should be ashamed to say it, but I felt no pity for them, and
rather prayed that they would all be chilled to death, so hateful and
wantonly cruel were they. As they become adults, they are less wanton in
their atrocities, though no less cruel, their energies, however, being
intelligently directed upon the two vital interests of their
lives—procuring flesh and women.

Shortly after the rain ceased, the wind began to abate, and as I was cold,
cramped and uncomfortable, I walked out into the open, in search of exercise
that would stimulate my circulation and warm me again. As I walked briskly to
and fro, looking here and there at the evidences of the recent storm, my
glance chanced to rise toward the sky, and there I saw what appeared at first
to be a huge bird, a few hundred feet above the forest in which we had sought
shelter. It was flapping its great wings weakly and seemed to be almost upon
the verge of exhaustion, and though I could see that it was attempting to fly
back in the direction of the mountains, the force of the wind was steadily
carrying it in the direction of the lowlands and the sea. Presently it would
be directly above me, and as it drew nearer, I knit my brows in puzzlement,
for except for its wings, and what appeared to be a large hump upon its back,
its form bore a striking resemblance to that of a human being.

Some of the No-vans evidently saw me looking upwards thus interestedly,
and prompted by curiosity, joined me. When they saw the creature flying
weakly overhead, they set up a great noise, until presently all the tribe had
run into the open and were looking up at the thing above us.

The wind was lessening rapidly, but it still was strong enough to carry
the creature gently toward us, and at the same time I perceived that whatever
it was, it was falling slowly to the ground, or more correctly, sinking
slowly.

"What is it?" I asked of the warrior standing beside me.

"It is a U-ga," he replied. "Now shall we eat."

I had seen no birds in the lunar world, and as I knew they would not eat
the flying reptiles, I guessed that this must be some species of bird life,
but as it dropped closer, I became more and more convinced that it was a
winged human being, or at least a winged creature with human form.

As it fluttered toward the ground, the No-vans ran along to meet it,
waiting for it to fall within reach. As they did so, Ga-va-go called to them
to bring the creature to him alive and unharmed.

I was about a hundred yards from the spot, when the poor thing finally
fell into their clutches. They dragged it to the ground roughly, and a moment
later I was horrified to see them tear its wings from it and the hump from
its back. There was a great deal of grumbling at Ga-va-go's order, as
following the storm and their long fast, the tribe was ravenously hungry.

"Flesh, flesh!" they growled. "We are hungry. Give us flesh!" But Ga-va-go
paid no attention to them, standing to one side beneath a tree, awaiting the
prisoner that they were bringing toward him.

ORTHIS, who was becoming the almost constant companion of
the chief, was standing beside the latter, while I was twenty-five or thirty
yards away, and directly between Ga-va-go and the warriors who were
approaching with the prisoner, who would of necessity have to pass close
beside me. I remained where I was, therefore, in order to get a better look
at it, which was rather difficult because it was almost entirely surrounded
by No-vans. However as they came opposite me, there was a little break
momentarily in the ranks, and I had my first opportunity, though brief, for a
closer observation of the captive; and my comprehension was almost staggered
by what my eyes revealed to me, for there before me, was as perfectly formed
a human female as I had ever seen. By earthly standards, she appeared a girl
of about eighteen, with hair of glossy blackness, that suggested more the
raven's wing than aught else and a skin of almost marble whiteness, slightly
tinged with a creamy shade. Only in the color of her skin, did she differ
from earthly women in appearance, except that she seemed far more beautiful
than they. Such perfection of features seemed almost unbelievable. Had I seen
her first posed motionless, I could have sworn that she was chiseled from
marble, yet there was nothing cold about her appearance. She fairly radiated
life and feeling. If my first impression had been startling, it was nothing
to the effect that was produced when she turned her eyes full upon me. Her
black brows were two thin, penciled arches, beneath which were dark wells of
light, vying in blackness with her raven hair. On either cheek was just the
faintest suggestion of a deeper cream, and to think that these hideous
creatures saw in that form divine only flesh to eat! I shuddered at the
thought and then my eyes met hers and I saw an expression of incredulity and
surprise registered in those liquid orbs. She half-turned her head as she was
dragged past, that she might have a further look at me, for doubtless she was
as surprised to see a creature like me as I was to see her.

She half-turned her head as she was dragged past.

Involuntarily I started forward. Whether there was an appeal for succor in
those eyes I do not know, but at least they aroused within me instantly, that
natural instinct of a human male to protect the weak. And so it was that I
was a little behind her and to her right, when she was halted before
Ga-va-go.

The savage Va-gas' chieftain eyed her coldly, while from all sides there
arose cries of "Give us flesh! Give us flesh! We are hungry!" to which
Ga-va-go paid not the slightest attention.

"From whence come you, U-ga?" he demanded.

Her head was high, and she eyed him with cold dignity as she replied,
"From Laythe."

The No-van raised his brows. "Ah," he breathed, "from Laythe. The flesh of
the women from Laythe is good," and he licked his thin lips.

The girl narrowed her eyes, and tilted her chin a bit higher. "Rympth!"
she ejaculated, disgustedly.

As rympth is the name of the four-legged snake of Va-nah, the inner lunar
world, and considered the lowest and most disgusting of created things, she
could not well have applied a more opprobrious epithet to the No-van
chieftain, but if it had been her intent to affront him, his expression gave
no indication that she had succeeded.

"Your name?" he asked.

"Nah-ee-lah," she replied.

"Nah-ee-lah," he repeated, "Ah, you are the daughter of Sagroth, Jemadar
of Laythe."

She nodded in indifferent affirmation, as though aught he might say was a
matter of perfect indifference to her.

"What do you expect us to do with you?" asked Ga-va-go, a question which
suggested a cat playing with a mouse before destroying it.

"What can I expect of the Va-gas, other than that they will kill me and
eat me?" she replied.

A roar of savage assent arose from the creatures surrounding her. Ga-va-go
flashed a quick look of anger and displeasure at his people.

"Do not be too sure of that," he snapped. "This be little more than a meal
for Ga-va-go alone. It would but whet the appetite of the tribe."

"There are two more," suggested a bold warrior, close beside me, pointing
at me and at Orthis.

"Silence!" roared Ga-va-go. "Since when did you become chief of the
No-vans?"

"We can starve without a chief," muttered the warrior who had spoken, and
from two or three about him arose grumblings of assent.

Swift, at that, Ga-va-go reared upon his hind feet, and in the same
motion, drew and buried his spear, the sharp point penetrating the breast of
the malcontent, piercing his heart. As the creature fell, the warrior closest
to him slit his throat, while another withdrew Ga-va-go's spear from the
corpse, and returned it to the chief.

"Divide the carcass among you," commanded the chief, "and whosoever thinks
that there is not enough, let him speak as that one spoke, and there shall be
more flesh to eat."

Thus did Ga-va-go, chief of the No-vans, hold the obedience of his savage
tribesmen. There was no more muttering then, but I saw several cast hungry
eyes at me—hungry, angry eyes that boded me no good.

In what seemed an incredibly short space of time, the carcass of the slain
warrior had been divided and devoured, and once again we set out upon the
march, in search of new fields to conquer, and fresh flesh to eat.

Now Ga-va-go sent scouts far in advance of the point, for we were entering
territory which he had not invaded for a long time, a truth which was
evidenced by the fact that there were only about twenty warriors in the
tribe, besides Ga-va-go, who were at all familiar with the territory.
Naturally quarrelsome and disagreeable, the No-vans were far from pleasant
companions upon that memorable march, since they had not recovered from the
fright and discomforts of the storm and, in addition, were ravenously hungry.
I imagine that none, other than Ga-va-go, could have held them. What his
purpose was in preserving the three prisoners, that would have made such
excellent food for the tribe, I did not know. However, we were not slain,
though I judged the fellow who carried me, would much sooner have eaten me,
and to vent his spite upon me he trotted as much as he could, and I can
assure you that he had the most devilishly execrable trot I ever sat. I felt
that he was rather running the thing into the ground, for he had an easy
rack, which would have made it much more comfortable for both of us, and
inasmuch as I knew that I was safe as long as I was under Ga-va-go's
protection, I made up my mind to teach the fellow a lesson, which I finally
did, although almost as much to my discomfort as his, by making no effort to
ease myself upon his back so that at every step I rose high and came down
hard upon him, sitting as far back as possible so as to pound his kidneys
painfully. It made him very angry and be threatened me with all kinds of
things if I didn't desist, but I only answered by suggesting that he take an
easier gait, which at last he was forced to do.

Orthis was riding ahead with Ga-va-go, who as usual led the point, while
the new prisoner astride a No-van warrior was with the main body, as was
I.

Once the warriors that we bestrode paced side by side, and I saw the girl
eyeing me questioningly. She seemed much interested in the remnants of my
uniform, which must have differed greatly from any clothing she had seen in
her own world. It seemed that she spoke and understood the same language that
Ga-va-go used, and so at last I made bold to address her.

"It is unfortunate," I said, "that you have fallen into the hands of these
creatures. I wish that I might be of service to you, but I also am a
prisoner."

She acknowledged my speech with a slight inclination of her head, and at
first I thought that she was not going to reply, but finally looking me full
in the face she asked, "What are you?"

"I am one of the inhabitants of the planet Earth."

"Where is that, and what is planet?" she asked, for I had had to use the
Earth word, since there is no word of similar meaning in the language of the
Va-gas.

"You know, of course," I said, "that space outside of Va-nah is filled
with other worlds. The closest to Va-nah is Earth, which is many, many times
larger than your world. It is from Earth that I come."

She shook her head. "I do not understand," she said. She closed her eyes,
and waved her hands with a gesture that might have included the universe.
"All, all is rock," she said, "except here in the center of everything, in
this space we call Va-nah. All else is rock."

I suppressed a smile at the vast egotism of Va-nah, but yet how little
different is it from many worldlings, who conceive that the entire cosmos
exists solely for the inhabitants of Earth. I even know men in our own
enlightened twenty-first century, who insist that Mars is not inhabited and
that the messages that are purported to come from our sister planet, are
either the evidences of a great world hoax, or the voice of the devil luring
people from belief in the true God.

"Did you ever see my like in Va-nah?" I asked her.

"No," she replied, "I never did, but I have not been to every part of
Va-nah. Va-nah is a very great world, and there are many corners of it of
which I know nothing."

"I am not of Va-nah," I told her again, "I am from another world far, far
away;" and then I tried to explain something of the universe to her— of
the sun and the planets and their satellites, but I saw that it was as far
beyond her as are the conceptions of eternity and space beyond the finite
mind of Earth Men. She simply couldn't get it, that was all. To her,
everything was solid rock that we know as space. She thought for a long time,
though, and then she said, "Ah, perhaps after all there may be other worlds
than Va-nah. The great Hoos, those vast holes that lead into the eternal
rock, may open into other worlds like Va-nah. I have heard that theory
discussed, but no one in Va-nah believes it. It is true, then!" she exclaimed
brightly, "and you come from another world like Va-nah. You came through one
of the Hoos, did you not?"

"Yes, I came through one of the Hoos," I replied—the word means hole
in the Va-gas tongue—"but I did not come from a world like Va-nah. Here
you live upon the inside of a hollow sphere. We Earth Men live upon the
outside of a similar though much larger sphere."

"But what holds it up?" she cried, laughing. It was the first time that
she had laughed, and it was a very contagious laugh, and altogether
delightful. Although I knew that it would probably be useless, I tried to
explain the whole thing to her, commencing with the nebular hypothesis, and
winding up with the relations that exist between the Moon and the Earth. If I
didn't accomplish anything else, I at least gave her something to distract
her mind from her grave predicament, and to amuse her temporarily, for she
laughed often at some of my statements. I had never seen so gay and vivacious
a creature, nor one so entirely beautiful as she. The single, sleeveless,
tunic-like garment that she wore, fell scarcely to her knees and as she
bestrode the No-van warrior, it often flew back until her thighs, even, were
exposed. Her figure was divinely perfect, its graceful contours being rather
accentuated than hidden by the diaphanous material of her dainty covering;
but when she laughed, she exposed two rows of even white teeth that would be
the envy of the most beautiful of Earth Maids.

"Suppose," she said, "that I should take a handful of gravel and throw it
up in the air. According to your theory the smaller would all commence to
revolve about the larger and they would go flying thus wildly around in the
air forever, but that is not what would happen. If I threw a handful of
gravel into the air it would fall immediately to the ground again, and if the
worlds you tell me of were cast thus into the air, they too would fall, just
as the gravel falls."

It was useless, but I had known that from the beginning. What would be
more interesting would be to question her, and that I had wished to do for
some time, but she always put me off with a pretty gesture and a shake of her
head, insisting that I answer some of her questions instead, but this time I
insisted.

"Tell me, please," I asked, "how you came to the spot where you were
captured, how you flew, and what became of your wings, and why, when they
tore them from you, it did not injure you?"

She laughed at that quite merrily.

"The wings do not grow upon us," she explained, "we make them and fasten
them upon our arms."

"Then you can support yourself in the air with wings fastened to your
arms?" I demanded, incredulously.

"Oh, no," she said, "the wings we use simply for propelling ourselves
through the air. In a bag, upon our backs, we carry a gas that is lighter
than air. It is this gas which supports us, and we carry it in such
quantities as to maintain a perfect equilibrium, so that we may float at any
altitude, or with our wings rise or fall gently; but as I hovered over
Laythe, came the air that runs, and seizing me with its strong arms bore me
off across the surface of Va-nah. Futilely I fought against it until I was
spent and weak, and then it dropped me into the clutches of the Va-gas, for
the gas in my bag had become depleted. It was not intended to carry me aloft
for any great length of time."

She had used a word which, when I questioned her, she explained so that I
understood that it meant time, and I asked her what she meant by it and how
she could measure it, since I had seen no indication of the Va-gas having any
conception of a measurable aspect of duration.

Nah-ee-lah explained to me that the Va-gas, who were a lower order, had no
means of measuring time, but that the U-ga, the race to which she belonged,
had always been able to compute time through their observation of the fact
that during certain periods the bottoms of the hoos, or craters, were
illuminated, and for another period they were dark, and so they took as a
unit of measure the total period from the beginning of this light in a
certain crater to its beginning again, and this they called a ula, which
corresponds with a sidereal month. By mechanical means they divide this into
a hundred parts, called ola, the duration of each of which is about six hours
and thirty-two minutes earth time. Ten ulas make a keld, which one might call
the lunar year of about two hundred and seventy-two days earth time.

I asked her many questions and took great pleasure in her answers, for she
was a bright, intelligent girl, and although I saw many evidences of regal
dignity about her, yet her manner toward me was most natural and unaffected,
and I could not help but feel that she occupied a position of importance
among her own people.

Our conversation was suddenly interrupted, however, by a messenger from
the point, who came racing back at tremendous speed, carrying word from
Ga-va-go that the scouts were signaling that they had discovered a large
village, and that the warriors were to prepare to fight.

Immediately we moved up rapidly to Ga-va-go, and then we all advanced
toward the scout who could be seen upon a knoll far ahead. We were cautioned
to silence, and as we moved at a brisk canter over the soft, pale lavender
vegetation of the inner Moon, the feet of the Va-gas giving forth no sound,
the picture presented to my earthly eyes was weird and mysterious in the
extreme.

When we reached the scout, we learned that the village was situated just
beyond a low ridge not far distant, so Ga-va-go gave orders that the women,
the children, and the three prisoners should remain under a small guard where
we were until they had topped the ridge, when we were to advance to a
position where we might overlook the village, and if the battle was against
the No-vans we could retreat to a point which he indicated to the warriors
left to guard us. This was to be the rendezvous, for following defeat the
Va-gas warriors scatter in all directions, thus preventing any considerable
body of them being attacked and destroyed by a larger body of the pursuing
enemy.

As we stood there upon the knoll, watching Ga-va-go and his savage
warriors galloping swiftly toward the distant ridge, I could not but wonder
that the inhabitants of the village which they were about to attack had not
placed sentinels along the ridge to prevent just such a surprise as this, but
when I questioned one of the warriors who had been left to guard us, he said
that not all the Va-gas tribes were accustomed to posting sentinels when they
felt themselves reasonably safe from attack. It had always been Ga-va-go's
custom, however, and to it they attributed his supremacy among the other
Va-gas tribes over a large territory.

"After a tribe has made a few successful raids and returned victorious,
they are filled with pride," the warrior explained to me, "and presently they
begin to think that no one dares to attack them and then they grow careless,
and little by little the custom of posting sentinels drops into disuse. The
very fact that they have no sentinels indicates that they are a large,
powerful and successful tribe. We shall feed well for a long time."

The very idea of the thought that was passing through his mind, was
repellent in the extreme, and I fairly shuddered when I contemplated the
callousness with which this creature spoke of the coming orgy, in which he
hoped to devour flesh of his own kind.

Presently we saw our force disappear beyond the ridge, and then we too,
advanced, and as we moved forward there came suddenly to us, from the
distance the fierce and savage war cry of the No-vans and a moment later it
was answered by another no less terrible, rising from the village beyond the
ridge. Our guards hastened us then, to greater speed, until, at a full run,
we mounted the steep slope of the ridge and halted upon its crest.

Below us lay a broad valley, and in the center a long, beautiful lake, the
opposite shore of which was clothed in forest while that nearest us was open
and park-like, dotted here and there with beautiful trees, and in this open
space we descried a large village.

The ferocity of the scene below us was almost indescribable. The No-vans
warriors were circling the village at a rapid run, attempting to keep the
enemy in a compact mass within, where it would present a better target for
their spears. Already the ground was dotted with corpses. There were no
wounded, for whenever one fell the nearest to him whether friend or foe cut
his throat, since the victors would devour them all without partiality. The
females and the young had taken refuge in the huts, from the doorways of
which they watched the progress of the battle. The defenders attempted
repeatedly to break through the circling No-vans. The warrior with whom I had
been talking told me that if they were successful the females and the young
would follow them through the break scattering in all directions, while their
warriors attempted to encircle the No-vans. It was almost immediately evident
that the advantage lay with the force that succeeded in placing this
swift-moving circle about its enemy, and keeping the enemy within it until
they had been dispatched, for those in the racing circle presented a poor
target, while the compact mass of warriors milling in the center could scarce
be missed.

The ferocity of the scene below us was almost
indescribable.

Following several unsuccessful attempts to break through the ring of
savage foemen the defenders suddenly formed another smaller ring within, and
moving in the opposite direction to the No-vans, raced in a rapid circle. No
longer did they cast spears at the enemy, but contented themselves with
leaping and bounding at a rapid gait. At first it seemed to me that they had
lost their heads with terror, but at last I realized that they were executing
a strategic maneuver which demonstrated both cunning and high discipline. In
the earlier stages of the battle each side had depended for its weapons upon
those hurled by the opposing force, but now the defenders hurled no weapons,
and it became apparent that the No-vans would soon no longer have spears to
cast at them. The defenders were also lessening their casualties by moving in
a rapid circle in a direction opposite to that taken by the attackers, but it
must have required high courage and considerable discipline to achieve this
result since it is difficult in the extreme to compel men to present
themselves continuously as living targets for a foe while they themselves are
permitted to inflict no injury upon the enemy.

Ga-va-go apparently was familiar with the ruse, for suddenly he gave a
loud cry which was evidently a command. Instantaneously, his entire force
wheeled in their tracks and raced in the opposite direction paralleling the
defenders of the village, and immediately thereafter cast their remaining
spears at comparatively easy targets.

The defenders, who were of the tribe called Lu-thans, wheeled instantly to
reverse the direction of their flight. Those wounded in the sudden onslaught
stumbled and fell, tripping and impeding the others, with the result that for
an instant they were a tangled mass, without order or formation. Then it was
that Ga-va-go and his No-vans leaped in upon them with their short, wicked
sword-daggers. At once the battle resolved itself into a ferocious and bloody
hand-to-hand conflict, in which daggers and teeth and three-toed paws each
did their share to inflict injury upon an antagonist. In their efforts to
escape a blow, or to place themselves in an advantageous position, many of
the combatants leaped high into the air, sometimes between thirty and forty
feet. Their shrieks and howls were continuous and piercing. Corpses lay piled
so thick as to impede the movements of the warriors, and the ground was
slippery with blood, yet on and on they fought, until it seemed that not a
single one would be left alive.

"It is almost over," remarked the warrior at my side. "See, there are two
or three No-vans now attacking each Lu-than."

It was true, and I saw that the battle could last but a short time. As a
matter of fact it ended almost immediately, the remaining Lu-thans suddenly
attempting to break away and scatter in different directions. Some of them
succeeded in escaping, possibly twenty but I am sure that there were not more
than that, and the rest fell.

Ga-va-go and his warriors did not pursue the few who had escaped,
evidently considering that it was not worth the effort, since there were not
enough of them to menace the village, and there was already plenty of meat
lying fresh and warm upon the ground.

We were summoned now, and as we filed down into the village, great was the
rejoicing of our females and young.

Guards were placed over the women and children of the defeated Lu-thans,
and then at a signal from Ga-va-go, the No-vans fell upon the spoils of war.
It was a revolting spectacle, as mothers devoured their sons, and wives,
their husbands. I do not care to dwell upon it.

When the victors had eaten their fill, the prisoners were brought forth
under heavy guard, and divided by the Va-gas between the surviving No-vans
warriors. There was no favoritism shown in the distribution of the prisoners,
except that Ga-va-go was given first choice, and received also those that
remained after as nearly equal a distribution as possible had been made. I
had expected that the male children would be killed, but they were not, being
inducted into the tribe upon an equal footing with those that had been born
into it.

Being capable of no sentiments of either affection or loyalty, it is
immaterial to these creatures to what tribe they belong, but once inducted
into a tribe, the instinct of self-preservation holds them to it, since they
would be immediately slain by the members of any other tribe.

I learned shortly after this engagement that Ga-va-go had lost fully half
his warriors, and that this was one of the most important battles that the
tribe had ever fought. The spoils, however, had been rich, for they had taken
over ten thousand women and fully fifty thousand young, and great quantities
of weapons, harness, and apparel.

The flesh that they could not eat was wrapped up and buried, and I was
told that it would remain in excellent condition almost indefinitely.

AFTER occupying the new village, Orthis and I were
separated, he being assigned a hut close to Ga-va-go, while I was placed in
another section of the village. If I could have been said to have been on
good terms with any of the terrible creatures of the tribe, it was with the
woman who had taught me the language of the Va-gas, and it was from her that
I learned why Orthis was treated with such marked distinction by Ga-va-go,
whom, it seemed, he had promised to lead to the land of our origin, where, he
had assured the savage chieftain, he would find flesh in abundance.

Nah-ee-lah was confined in still another part of the village, and I only
saw her occasionally, for it was evident that Ga-va-go wished to keep the
prisoners separated. Upon one occasion when I met her at the shore of the
lake I asked her why it was that they had not slain and eaten her, and she
told me that when Ga-va-go had discovered her identity, and that her father
was a Jemadar, a ruler of a great city, he had sent messengers with an offer
to return Nah-ee-lah for a ransom of one hundred young women of the city of
Laythe.

"Do you think your father will send the ransom?" I asked.

"I do not know," she replied. "I do not see how they are going to get a
message to him, for ordinarily, my race kills the Va-gas on sight. They may
succeed, however, but even so, it is possible that my father will not send
the ransom. I would not wish him to. The daughters of my father's people are
as dear to them, as am I to him. It would be wrong to give a hundred of the
daughters of Laythe in return for one, even though she be the daughter of the
Jemadar."

We had drunk, and were returning toward our huts when, wishing to prolong
our conversation and to be with this pleasant companion while I might, I
suggested that we walk farther into the woods and gather fruit. Nah-ee-lah
signified her willingness, and together we strolled out of the village into
the denser woods at its rear, where we found a particularly delicious fruit
growing in abundance. I gathered some and offered it to her, but she refused,
thanking me, saying that she had but just eaten.

"Do they bring the fruit to you," I asked, "or do you have to come and
gather it yourself?"

"What fruit I get I gather," she replied, "but they bring me flesh. It is
of that which I have just eaten, and so I do not care for fruit now."

"Flesh!" I exclaimed. "What kind of flesh?"

"The flesh of the Va-gas, of course," she replied. "What other flesh might
a U-ga eat?"

I fear that I ill-concealed my surprise and disgust at the thought that
the beautiful Nah-ee-lah ate of the flesh of the Va-gas.

"You, too, eat of the flesh of these creatures?" I demanded.

"Why not?" she asked. "You eat flesh, do you not, in your own country. You
have told me that you raise beasts solely for their flesh."

"Yes," I replied, "that is true, but we eat only the flesh of lower
orders; we do not eat the flesh of humans."

"You mean that you do not eat the flesh of your own species," she
said.

"Yes," I replied, "that is what I mean."

"Neither do I," she said. "The Va-gas are not of the same species as the
U-ga. They are a lower order, just as are the creatures whose flesh you eat
in your own country. You have told me of beef, and of mutton, and of pork,
which you have described as creatures that run about on four legs, like the
Va-gas. What is the difference, then, between the eating of the flesh of pork
and beef or mutton, and the eating of Va-gas, who are low creatures
also?"

"But they have human faces!" I cried, "and a spoken language."

"You had better learn to eat them," she said, "otherwise you will eat no
flesh in Va-nah."

The more I thought about it the more reason I saw in her point of view.
She was right. She was no more transgressing any natural law in eating the
flesh of the Va-gas than do we, eating the flesh of cattle. To her the Va-gas
were less than cattle. They were dangerous and hated enemies. The more I
analyzed the thing, the more it seemed to me that we humans of the earth were
more surely transgressing a natural law by devouring our domestic animals,
many of which we learned to love, than were the U-ga of Va-nah in devouring
the flesh of their four-footed foes, the Va-gas. Upon our earthly farms we
raise calves and sheep and little pigs, and oftentimes we become greatly
attached to individuals and they to us. We gain their confidence, and they
have implicit trust in us, and yet, when they are of the right age, we slay
and devour them. Presently it did not seem either wrong or unnatural that
Nah-ee-lah should eat the flesh of the Va-gas, but as for myself, I could
never do it, nor ever did.

We had left the forest, and were returning to the village to our huts
when, near the large hut occupied by Ga-va-go, we came suddenly upon Orthis.
At the sight of us together he scowled.

"If I were you," he said to me, "I would not associate with her too much.
It may arouse the displeasure of Ga-va-go."

It was the first time that Orthis had spoken to me since we had occupied
this village. I did not like his tone or his manner.

"You will please to mind your own business, Orthis," I said to him, and
continued on with Nah-ee-lah. I saw the man's eyes narrow malignantly, and
then he turned, and entered the hut of Ga-va-go, the chief of the
No-vans.

Every time I went to the river, I had to pass in the vicinity of
Nah-ee-lah's hut. It was a little out of my way, but I always made the slight
detour in the hope of meeting her, though I had never entered her hut nor
called for her, since she had never invited me and realizing her position, I
did not wish to intrude. I was of course ignorant of the social customs of
her people, and feared offending her accidentally.

It chanced that the next time that I walked down to the lake shore,
following our stroll in the woods, I made my usual detour that I might pass
by the hut of Nah-ee-lah. As I came near I heard voices, one of which I
recognized as that of Nah-ee-lah, and the other, a man's voice. The girl's
tones were angry and imperious.

"Leave my presence, creature!" were the first words that I could
distinguish, and then the man's voice.

"Come," he said, ingratiatingly. "Let us be friends. Come to my hut, and
you will be safe, for Ga-va-go is my friend." The voice was the voice of
Orthis.

"Go!" she ordered him again. "I would as soon lie with Ga-va-go as with
you."

"Know then," cried Orthis, angrily, "that you will go, whether you wish it
or not, for Ga-va-go has given you to me. Come!" and then he must have seized
her, for I heard her cry out, "How dare you lay hands upon me, Nah-ee-lah,
princess of Laythe!"

I was close beside the entrance to the hut now, and I did not wait to hear
any more, but thrusting the hanging aside entered. There they were, in the
center of the single room, Orthis struggling to drag the girl toward the
opening while she resisted and struck at him. Orthis' back was toward me and
he did not know that there was another in the hut until I had stepped up
behind him and grasping him roughly by the shoulder, had jerked him from the
girl and swung him about facing me.

I stepped up behind him and jerked him from the
girl.

"You cad," I said, "get out of here before I kick you out, and don't ever
let me hear of you molesting this girl again."

His eyes narrowed, and he looked at me with an ugly light in them. "Since
boyhood, you have cheated me out of all I wished. You ruined my life on
Earth, but now, conditions are reversed. The tables are turned. Believe me,
then, when I tell you that if you interfere with me you sign your own death
warrant. It is only by my favor that you live at all. If I gave the word
Ga-va-go would destroy you at once. Go then to your hut and stop your
meddling in the affairs of others—a habit that you developed in a most
flagrant degree on Earth, but which will avail you nothing here within the
Moon. The woman is mine. Ga-va-go has given her to me. Even if her father
should fail to send the ransom her life shall be spared as long as I desire
her. Your interference then can only result in your death, and do her no
good, for provided you are successful in keeping me from her, you would be
but condemning her to death in the event that her father does not send the
ransom, and Ga-va-go has told me that there is little likelihood of that,
since it is scarcely possible that his messengers will be able to deliver
Ga-va-go's demands to Sagroth."

"You have heard him," I said, turning to the girl. "What are your wishes
in the matter. Perhaps he speaks the truth."

"I have no doubt but that he speaks the truth," she replied, "but know,
strangers, that the honor of a princess of Laythe is dearer than her
life."

"Very well, Orthis," I said to the man. "You have heard her. Now get
out."

He was almost white with anger, and for a moment I thought that he was
going to attack me, but he was ever a coward, and contenting himself with
giving me a venomous look, he walked from the hut without another word.

I turned to Nah-ee-lah, after the hanging had dropped behind Orthis. "It
is too bad," I said, "that with all your suffering at the hands of the
Va-gas, you should also be annoyed by one who is practically of your own
species."

"Your kindness more than compensates," she replied graciously. "You are a
brave man, and I am afraid that you are going to suffer for your protection
of me. This man is powerful. He has made wonderful promises to Ga-va-go. He
is going to teach him how to use the strange weapons that you brought from
your own world. The woman who brings me my meat told me of all this, and that
the tribe is much excited by the promises that your friend has made to
Ga-va-go. He will teach them to make the weapons, such as you slew their
warriors with, so that they will be invincible, and may go abroad in Va-nah
slaying all who oppose them and even raiding the cities of the U-ga. He has
told them that he will lead them to the strange thing which brought you from
your world to Va-nah, and that there they will find other weapons, like those
that you carried, and having the noise which they make, and the things with
which they kill. All these he says they may have, and that later he will
build other things, such as brought you from your world to Va-nah, and he
will take Ga-va-go and all the No-vans to what you call Earth."

"If there is any man in the universe who might do it, it is he," I
replied, "but there is little likelihood that he can do it. He is merely
deceiving Ga-va-go in the hope of prolonging his own life, against the
possibility that an opportunity to escape will develop, in which event he
will return to our ship and our friends. He is a bad man though, Nah-ee-lah,
and you must be careful of him. There is a vacant hut near yours, and I will
come and live in it. There is no use in asking Ga-va-go, for if he is
friendly with Orthis, he will not permit me to make the change. If you ever
need me, call 'Julian' as loud as you can, and I will come."

"You are very good," she said. "You are like the better men of Laythe, the
high nobles of the court of the Jemadar, Sagroth, my father. They too are
honorable men, to whom a woman may look for protection, but there are no
others in all Va-nah since the Kalkars arose thousands of kelds ago, and
destroyed the power of the nobles and the Jemadars, and all the civilization
that was Va-nah's. Only in Laythe, have we preserved a semblance of the old
order. I wish I might take you to Laythe, for there you would be safe and
happy. You are a brave man. It is strange that you are not married."

I was upon the point of making some reply, when the hangings at the
doorway parted, and a No-van warrior entered. Behind him were three others.
They were walking erect, with drawn spears.

"Here he is," said the leader, and then, addressing me, "Come!"

"Why?" I asked. "What do you want of me?"

"Is it for you to question," he demanded, "when Ga-va-go commands?"

"He has sent for me?" I asked.

"Come!" repeated the leader, and an instant later they had hooked their
spears about my arms and neck and none too gently they dragged me from the
hut. I had something of a presentiment that this was to be the end. At the
doorway I half turned to glance back at the girl. She was standing wide-eyed
and tense, watching them drag me away.

"Good-bye—Julian," she said. "We shall never meet again for there is
none to carry our souls to a new incarnation."

"We are not dead yet," I called back, "and remember if you need me call
me," and then the hanging dropped behind us, and she was shut off from my
vision.

They did not take me to my own hut, but to another, not far distant from
Nah-ee-lah's, and there they bound my hands and feet with strips of leather
and threw me upon the ground. Afterwards they left me, dropping the hanging
before the entrance. I did not think that they would eat me, for Orthis had
joined with me in explaining to Ga-va-go and the others that our flesh was
poisonous, and though they may have questioned the veracity of our
statements, nevertheless I was quite sure that they would not risk the chance
of our having told the truth.

The Va-gas obtain their leather by curing the hides of their dead. The
better portions they use for their trappings and harness. The other portions
they cut into thin strips, which they use in lieu of rope. Most of this is
very strong, but some of it is not, especially that which is improperly
cured.

The warriors who had been sent to seize me had scarcely left the hut
before I commenced working with my bonds in an attempt to loosen or break
them. I exerted all my strength in the effort, until I became sure that those
which held my hands were stretching. The effort, however, was very tiring,
and I had to stop often and rest. I do not know how long I worked at them,
but it must have been a very long time before I became convinced that however
much they gave they were not going to break. Just what I intended to do with
my freedom I do not know, since there was little or no chance that I might
escape from the village. Perpetual daylight has its disadvantages, and this
was one of them, that there was no concealing nocturnal darkness during which
I might sneak away from the village unseen.

As I lay resting after my exertions, I suddenly became aware of a strange,
moaning sound from without, and then the hut shook, and I realized that
another storm had come. Soon after I heard the beat of rain drops on the
roof, and then a staggering, deafening peal of lunar thunder. As the storm
waxed in violence, I could imagine the terror of the No-vans, nor even in my
plight could I resist the desire to smile at their discomfiture. I knew that
they must all be hiding in their huts, and again I renewed my efforts to
break the bonds at my wrists, but all to no avail; and then suddenly, above
the moaning of the wind and the beating of the rain, there came distinctly to
my ears in a clear, full voice, a single word: "Julian!"

"Nah-ee-lah," I thought. "She needs me. What are they doing to her?" There
flashed quickly before my mental vision a dozen scenes, in each of which I
saw the divine figure of the Moon Maid, the victim of some fiendish
brutality. Now she was being devoured by Ga-va-go; now some of the females
were tearing her to pieces, and again the warriors were piercing that
beautiful skin with their cruel spears; or it was Orthis, come to claim
Ga-va-go's gift. It was this last thought, I think, which turned me almost
mad, giving to my muscles the strength of a dozen men. I have always been
accounted a powerful man, but in the instant that that sweet voice came
across the storm to find me, and my imagination pictured her in the clutches
of Orthis, something within moved me to Herculean efforts far transcending
aught that I had previously achieved. As though they had been cotton twine
now, the leather bonds at my wrists snapped asunder, and an instant later
those at my ankles were torn away, and I was upon my feet. I sprang to the
door and into the open, where I found myself in a maelstrom of wind and rain.
In two bounds I had cleared the space between the hut in which I had been
confined and that occupied by Nah-ee-lah, had torn the hanging aside, and had
sprung into the interior; and there I beheld the materialization of my last
vision—there was Orthis, one arm about the slender body of the girl
pinning her arms close to her side, while his other hand was at her throat,
choking her and pressing her slowly backward across his knees toward the
ground.

He was facing the door this time, and saw me enter, and as he realized who
it was, he hurled the girl roughly from him and rose to meet me. For once in
his life he seemed to know no fear, and I think that what with his passion
for the girl, and the hatred he felt for me, and the rage that my
interference must have engendered, he was momentarily insane, for he suddenly
leaped upon me like a madman, and for an instant I came near going down
beneath his blows—but only for an instant, and then I caught him
heavily upon the chin with my left fist, and again, full in the face with my
right, and though he was a splendid boxer, he was helpless in my hands.
Neither of us had a weapon, or one of us certainly would have been killed in
short order. As it was I tried to kill him with my bare fists, and at last,
when he had fallen for the dozenth time, and I had picked him up and held him
upon his feet and struck him repeatedly again and again, he no longer moved.
I was sure that he was dead, and it was with a feeling of relief and of
satisfaction in a duty well performed that I looked down upon his lifeless
body. Then I turned to Nah-ee-lah.

"Come," I said, "there has been given to us this chance for escape. Never
again may such a fortuitous combination of circumstances arise. The Va-gas
will be hiding in their huts, crouching in terror of the storm. I do not know
whither we may fly, but wherever it be, we can be in no greater danger than
we are here."

She shuddered a little at the thought of going out into the terrors of the
storm. Though not so fearful of it as the ignorant Va-gas, she still feared
the wrath of the elements, as do all the inhabitants of Va-nah, but she did
not hesitate, and as I stretched out a hand, she placed one of hers within
it, and together we stepped out into the swirling rain and wind.

NAH-EE-LAH and I passed through the village of the No-vans
undetected, since the people of Ga-va-go were cowering in their huts,
terror-stricken by the storm. The girl led me immediately to high ground and
upward along a barren ridge toward the high mountains in the distance. I
could see that she was afraid though she tried to hide it from me, putting on
a brave front that I was sure she was far from feeling. My respect for her
increased, as I have always respected courage, and I believe that it requires
the highest courage to do that which fills one with fear. The man who
performs heroic acts without fear is less brave than he who overcomes his
cowardice.

Realizing her fear I retained her hand in mine, that the contact might
impart to her a little of the confidence that I felt, now that I was
temporarily at least out of the clutches of the Va-gas.

Realizing her fear I retained her hand in mine.

We had reached the ridge above the village when the thought that we were
weaponless and without means of protection overwhelmed me. I had been in so
much of a hurry to escape the village that I had overlooked this very vital
consideration. I spoke to Nah-ee-lah about it, telling her that I had best
return to the village and make an effort to regain possession of my own
weapons and ammunition. She tried to dissuade me, telling me that such an
attempt was foredoomed to failure and prophesying that I would be
recaptured.

"But we cannot cross this savage world of yours, Nah-ee-lah, without means
of protection," I urged. "We do not know at what minute some fierce creature
may confront us—think how helpless we shall be without weapons with
which to defend ourselves."

"There are only the Va-gas," she said, "to fear in this part of Va-nah. We
know no other dangerous beast, except the tor-ho. They are seldom seen.
Against the Va-gas your weapons would be useless, as you already have
discovered. The risk of meeting a tor-ho is infinitely less than that which
you will incur if you attempt to enter Ga-va-go's hut to secure your weapons.
You simply could not do it and escape, for doubtless the dwelling of the
Chief is crowded with warriors."

I was compelled, finally, to admit the wisdom of her reasoning and to
forego an attempt to secure my rifle and pistol, though I can assure you that
I felt lost without them, especially when thus venturing forth into a new
world so strange to me as Va-nah, and so savage. As a matter of fact, from
what I gleaned from Nah-ee-lah, there was but a single spot upon the entire
inner lunar world where she and I could hope to be even reasonably free from
danger, and that was her native city of Laythe. Even there I should have
enemies, she told me, for her race is ever suspicious of strangers; but the
friendship of the princess would be my protection, she assured me with a
friendly pressure of the hand.

The rain and wind must have persisted for a considerable time, for when it
was finally over and we looked back through a clear atmosphere we found that
a low range of mountains lay between us and the distant sea. We had crossed
these and were upon a plateau at the foot of the higher peaks. The sea looked
very far away indeed, and we could not even guess at the location of the
No-vans village from which we had escaped.

"Do you think they will pursue us?" I asked her.

"Yes," she said; "they will try to find us, but it will be like looking
for a raindrop in the ocean. They are creatures of the low-lands—I am
of the mountains. Down there," and she pointed into the valley, "they might
find me easily, but in my own mountains—no."

"We are near Laythe?" I asked.

"I do not know. Laythe is hard to find—it is well hidden. It is for
this reason that it exists at all. Its founders were pursued by the Kalkars,
and had they not found an almost inaccessible spot they would have been
discovered and slain long before they could have constructed an impregnable
city."

She led me then straight into the mighty mountains of the Moon, past the
mouths of huge craters that reached through the lunar crust to the surface of
the satellite, along the edges of yawning chasms that dropped three, four,
yes, sometimes five miles, sheer into frightful gorges, and then out upon
vast plateaus, but ever upward toward the higher peaks that seemed to topple
above us in the distance. The craters, as a rule, lay in the deep gorges, but
some we found upon the plateaus, and even a few opened into the summits of
mountain peaks as do those upon the outer surface of planets. Those in the
low places were, I believe, the openings through which the original molten
lunar core was vomited forth by the surface volcanoes upon the outer
crust.

Nah-ee-lah told me that the secret entrance to Laythe lay just below the
lip of one of these craters, and it was this she sought. To me the quest
seemed hopeless, for as far as the eye could reach lay naught but an
indescribable jumble of jagged peaks, terrific gorges and bottomless craters.
Yet always the girl seemed to find a way among or about them—
instinctively, apparently, she found trails and footholds where there were no
trails and where a chamois might have been hard put to it to find secure
footing.

In these higher altitudes we found a vegetation that differed materially
from that which grew in the lowlands. Edible fruits and berries were,
however, still sufficiently plentiful to keep us reasonably well supplied
with food. When we were tired we usually managed to find a cave in which we
could rest in comparative security, and when it was possible to do so
Nah-ee-lah always insisted upon barricading the entrance with rocks, since
there was always the danger, she told me, of our being attacked by tor-hos.
These blood-thirsty creatures while rare, were nevertheless very much to be
feared, since not only were they voracious meat eaters and of such a savage
disposition that they attacked nearly everything they saw in wanton ferocity,
but even a minor wound inflicted by their fangs or talons often proved fatal,
because of the fact that their principal diet was the poisonous flesh of the
rympth and the flying toad: I tried to get Nah-ee-lah to describe the
creature to me, but inasmuch as there was no creature with which we were both
familiar that she might compare it with, I learned little more from her than
that it stood between eighteen inches and two feet in height, had long, sharp
fangs, four legs and was hairless.

As an aid to climbing, as well as to give me some means of protection, I
broke a stout and rather heavy branch from one of the mountain trees, the
wood of which was harder than any that I had seen growing in the lowlands. To
roam a strange and savage world armed only with a wooden stick seemed to me
the height of rashness, but there was no alternative until the time arrived
when I might find the materials with which to fashion more formidable
weapons. I had in mind a bow and arrows and was constantly on the lookout for
wood which I considered adapted to the former, and I also determined to
forego my cane for a spear whenever the material for the making of one came
to hand. I had little time, however, for such things, as it seemed that when
we were not sleeping we were constantly upon the move, Nah-ee-lah becoming
more and more impatient to find her native city as the chances for so doing
lessened—and it seemed to me that they were constantly lessening. While
I was quite sure that she had no more idea where Laythe lay than I, yet we
stumbled on and on and on, through the most stupendous mountain ranges that
the mind of man can conceive, nor ever, apparently, did Nah-ee-lah discover a
single familiar landmark upon which to hang a shred of hope that eventually
we might come upon Laythe.

I never saw such a sanguine and hopeful person as Nah-ee-lah. It was her
constant belief that Laythe lay just beyond the next mountain, in spite of
the fact that she was invariably mistaken—which seemed never to lessen
the exuberance of her enthusiasm for the next guess—which I knew
beforehand was going to be a wrong guess.

Once just after we had rounded the shoulder of a mountain we came upon a
little strip of level land clinging to the side of a mighty peak. I was in
the lead—a position which I tried always to take when it was not
absolutely necessary for Nah-ee-lah to go ahead in order to find a trail. As
I came around the shoulder of the mountain, and in full sight of the little
level area, I was positive that I saw a slight movement among some bushes at
my right about halfway along one side of the little plain.

As we came abreast of the spot, upon which I kept my eye, there broke upon
our ears the most hideous scream that I have ever heard, and simultaneously
there leaped from the concealment of the bushes a creature about the size of
a North American mountain lion, though quite evidently a reptile and probably
a tor-ho, as such it proved to be. There was something about the head and
face which suggested the cat family to me, yet there was really no
resemblance between it and any of the earthly felines. It came at me with
those terrible curved fangs bared and bristling and as it came it emitted the
most terrifying sounds—I have called them screams, because that word
more nearly describes them than any other, and yet they were a combination of
shrieks and moans—the most blood-curdling that I have ever heard.

Nah-ee-lah grasped my arm. "Run!" she cried, "run." But I shook her loose
and stood my ground. I wanted to run, that I will admit, but where to? The
creature was covering the ground at tremendous speed and our only avenue of
escape was the narrow trail over which we had just come, which clung
precariously to the side of a perpendicular cliff. And so I stood there
waiting, my feeble stick grasped in both hands. Just what I expected to do
with it I scarcely knew until the tor-ho was upon me. Then I swung for its
head as a batter swings for a pitched ball. I struck it square upon the nose
—a terrific blow that not only stopped it, but felled it. I could hear
the bones crushing beneath the impact of my crude weapon and I thought that I
had done for the thing with that single blow, but I did not know the
tremendous vitality of the creature. Almost instantly it was up and at me
again, and again I struck it, this time upon the side of the head, and again
I heard bones crush and again it fell heavily to the ground.

What appeared to be cold blood was oozing slowly from its wounded face as
it came at me for the third time, its eyes glaring hideously, its broken jaws
agape to seize me, while its shrieks and moans rose to a perfect frenzy of
rage and pain. It reared up and struck at me with its talons now, but I met
it again with my bludgeon and this time I broke a fore leg.

How long I fought that awful thing I cannot even guess. Time and time
again it charged me furiously and each time, though often by but a miracle of
fortune, I managed to keep it from closing, and each blow that I delivered
crushed and maimed it a little more, until at last it was nothing but a
bleeding wreck of pulp, still trying to crawl toward me upon its broken legs
and seize me and drag me down with its broken, toothless jaws. Even then it
was with the greatest difficulty that I killed it, that I might put it out of
its misery.

How long I fought that awful thing I cannot even
guess.

Rather exhausted, I turned to look for Nah-ee-lah, and much to my
surprise, I found her standing directly behind me.

"I thought you had run away," I said,

"No," she said, "you did not run and so I did not, but I never thought
that you would be able to kill it."

"You thought that it would kill me, then?" I asked.

"Certainly," she replied. "Even now I cannot understand how you were able
to overcome a tor-ho with that pitiful little stick of wood."

"But if you thought I was going to be killed," I insisted, "why was it
that you did not seek safety in flight?"

"If you had been killed I should not have cared to live," she said
simply.

I did not exactly understand her attitude and scarcely knew what reply to
make.

"It was very foolish of you," I said at last, rather blunderingly, "and if
we are attacked again you must run and save yourself."

She looked at me for a moment with a peculiar expression upon her face
which I could not interpret and then turned and resumed her way in the
direction in which we had been traveling when our journey had been
interrupted by the tor-ho. She did not say anything, but I felt that I had
offended her and I was sorry. I did not want her falling in love with me,
though, and according to earthly standards, her statement that she would
rather die than live without me might naturally have been interpreted as a
confession of love. The more I thought of it, however, as we moved along in
silence, the more possible it seemed to me that her standards might differ
widely from mine and that I was only proving myself to be an egotistical ass
in assuming that Nah-ee-lah loved me. I wished that I might explain matters
to her, but it is one of those things that is rather difficult to explain,
and I realized that it might be made much worse if I attempted to do so.

We had been such good friends and our fellowship had been so perfect that
the apparently strained silence which existed between us was most depressing.
Nah-ee-lah had always been a talkative little person and always gay and
cheerful, even under the most trying conditions.

I was rather tired out after my encounter with the tor-ho and should have
liked to stop for a rest, but I did not suggest it, neither did Nah-ee-lah,
and so we continued on our seemingly interminable way, though, almost
exhausted as I was, I dropped some little distance behind my beautiful
guide.

She was quite out of sight ahead of me upon the winding trail when
suddenly I heard her calling my name aloud. I answered her as,
simultaneously, I broke into a run, for I did not know but that she might be
in danger, though her voice did not sound at all like it. She was only a
short distance ahead and when I came in sight of her I saw her standing at
the edge of a mighty crater. She was facing me and she was smiling.

"Oh, Julian," she cried, "I have found it. I am home and we are safe at
last."

"I am glad, Nah-ee-lah," I said. "I have been much worried on account of
the dangers to which you have been constantly subjected, as well as because
of a growing fear that you would never be able to find Laythe."

"Oh, my!" she exclaimed, "I knew that I would find it. If I had to hunt
through every mountain range in Va-nah I would have found it."

"You are quite sure that this is the crater where lies the entrance to
Laythe?" I asked her.

"There is no doubt of it, Julian," she replied, and she pointed downward
over the lip of the crater toward a narrow ledge which lay some twenty feet
below and upon which I saw what appeared to be the mouth of a cave opening
into the crater.

"But, how are we going to reach it?" I asked.

"It may be difficult," she replied, "but we will find a way."

"I hope so, Nah-ee-lah," I said, "but without a rope or wings I do not see
how we are going to accomplish it."

"In the mouth of the tunnel," explained Nah-ee-lah, "there are long poles,
each of which has a hook at one end. Ages ago there were no other means of
ingress or egress to the city and those who came out to hunt or for any other
purpose came through this long tunnel from the city, and from the ledge below
they raised their poles and placed the hooked ends over the rim of the
crater, after which it was a simple matter to clamber up or down the poles as
they wished; but it has been long since these tunnels were used by the people
of Va-nah, who had no further need of them after the perfection of the flying
wings which you saw me using when I was captured by the Va-gas."

"If they used poles, so may we," I said, "since there are plenty of young
trees growing close to the rim of the crater. The only difficulty will be in
felling one of them."

"We can do that," said Nah-ee-lah, "if we can find some sharp fragments of
stone. It will be slow work, but it can be done," and she started immediately
to hunt for a fragment with a cutting edge. I joined her in the search and it
was not long before we had discovered several pieces of obsidian with rather
sharp edges. We then started to work upon a young tree about four inches in
diameter that grew almost straight for a height of some thirty feet.

Cutting the tree down with our bits of lava glass was tedious work, but
finally it was accomplished, and we were both much elated when the tree
toppled and fell to the ground. Cutting away the branches occupied almost as
long a time, but that, too, was finally accomplished. The next problem which
confronted us was that of making the top of the pole secure enough to hold
while we descended to the ledge before the mouth of the tunnel. We had no
rope and nothing with which to fashion one, other than my garments, which I
was loth to destroy, inasmuch as in these higher altitudes it was often cold.
Presently, however, I hit upon a plan which, if Nah-ee-lah's muscles and my
nerves withstood the strain it put upon them, bade fair to assure the success
of our undertaking. I lowered the larger end of the pole over the side of the
crater until the butt rested upon the ledge before the mouth of the tunnel.
Then I turned to Nah-ee-lah.

"Lie down flat at full length, Nah-ee-lah," I directed her, "and hold this
pole securely with both hands. You will only have to keep it from toppling to
the sides or outward, and to that, I think, your strength is equal. While you
hold it, I will descend to the mouth of the tunnel and raise one of the
regular hooked poles which you say should be deposited there. If they are
not, I believe that I can hold our own pole securely from below while you
descend." She looked over into the vast abyss below and shuddered. "I can
hold it at the top," she said, "if the bottom does not slip from the
ledge."

"That is a chance that I shall have to take," I replied, "but I will
descend very carefully and I think there will be little danger upon that
score."

I could see, upon a more careful examination of the ledge below, that
there was some danger of an accident such as she suggested.

Nah-ee-lah took her position as I had directed and lay grasping the pole
securely in both hands at the rim of the crater, which was absolutely
perpendicular at this point, and I prepared to make the perilous descent.

I can assure you that my sensations were far from pleasurable as I looked
over into that awful abyss. The crater itself was some four or five miles in
diameter, and, as I had every reason to suspect, extended fully two hundred
and fifty miles through the lunar crust to the surface of the Moon. It was
one of the most impressive moments of my life as I clung balancing upon the
edge of that huge orifice, gazing into the silent, mysterious depths below.
And then I seized the pole very gently and lowered myself over the edge.

"Courage, Julian!" whispered Nah-ee-lah; "I shall hold very tight."

"I shall be quite safe, Nah-ee-lah," I assured her. "I must be safe, for
if I am not, how are you to reach the ledge and Laythe?"

As I descended very slowly I tried not to think at all, but to exclude
from my mind every consideration of the appalling depths beneath me. I could
not have been more than two feet from the ledge when the very thing that we
both tried so hard to guard against transpired—a splintered fragment of
the pole's butt crumpled beneath my weight and that slight jar was just
sufficient to start the base of my precarious ladder sliding toward the edge
of the narrow projection upon which I had rested it, and beyond which lay
eternity. Above me I heard a slight scream and then the pole slipped from the
ledge and I felt myself falling.

It was over in an instant. My feet struck the ledge and I threw myself
within the mouth of the tunnel. And then, above me, I heard Nah-ee-lah's
voice crying in agonized tones:

"Julian! Julian! I am falling!"

Instantly I sprang to my feet and peered upward from the mouth of the
tunnel upon a sight that froze my blood, so horrifying did it seem, for there
above me, still clinging to the pole, hung Nah-ee-lah, her body, with the
exception of her legs, completely over the edge of the crater. Just as I
looked up she dropped the pole and although I made a grab for it I missed it
and it fell past me into the maw of the crater.

"Julian! Julian! You are safe!" she cried; "I am glad of that. It
terrified me so when I thought you were falling and I tried my best to hold
the pole, but your weight dragged me over the edge of the crater. Good-bye,
Julian, I cannot hold on much longer."

"You must, Nah-ee-lah!" I cried; "do not forget the hooked poles that you
told me of. I will find one and have you down in no time." And even as I
spoke I turned and dove into the tunnel; but my heart stood still at the
thought that the poles might not be there. My first glance revealed only the
bare rock of walls and floor and ceiling and no hooked poles in sight. I
sprang quickly farther into the tunnel which turned abruptly a few yards
ahead of me and just around the bend my eyes were gladdened by the sight of a
dozen or more of the poles which Nah-ee-lah had described. Seizing one of
them, I ran quickly back to the entrance. I was almost afraid to look up, but
as I did so I was rewarded by the sight of Nah-ee-lah's face smiling down at
me—she could smile even in the face of death, could Nah-ee-lah.

"Just a moment more, Nah-ee-lah!" I cried to her, as I raised the pole and
caught the hook upon the crater's rim. There were small protuberances on
either side of the pole for its entire length, which made climbing it
comparatively simple.

"Make haste, Julian!" she cried, "I am slipping."

It wasn't necessary for her to tell me to make haste. I think that I never
did anything more quickly in my life than I climbed that pole, but I reached
her not an instant too soon, for even as my arm slipped about her, her hold
upon the ledge above gave way, and she came down head foremost upon me. I had
no difficulty in catching her and supporting her weight. My only fear was
that the hook above might not sustain the added weight under the strain of
her falling body. But it held, and I blessed the artisan who had made it thus
strong.

A moment later I had descended to the mouth of the tunnel and drawn
Nah-ee-lah into the safety of its interior. My arm was still around her and
hers about me as she stood there sobbing upon my breast. She was utterly
relaxed and her supple body felt so helpless against me that there was
suddenly aroused within me a feeling such as I had never experienced
before—a rather indescribable feeling, yet one which induced,
seemingly, an irresistible and ridiculous desire to go forth and slay whole
armies of men in protection of this little Moon Maid. It must have been a
sudden mental reversion to some ancient type of crusading ancestor of the
Middle Ages —some knight in armor from whose loins I had sprung,
transmitting to me his own flamboyant, yet none the less admirable, chivalry.
The feeling rather surprised me, for I have always considered myself more or
less practical and hard-headed. But more sober thought finally convinced me
that it was but a nervous reaction from the thrilling moments through which
we had both just passed, coupled with her entire helplessness and dependence
upon me. Be that as it may, I disengaged her arms from about my neck as
gently and as quickly as I could and lowered her carefully to the floor of
the tunnel, so that she sat with her back leaning against one of the
walls.

"You are very brave, Julian," she said, "and very strong."

"I am afraid I am not very brave," I told her. "I am almost weak from
fright even now—I was so afraid that I would not reach you in time,
Nah-ee-lah."

"It is the brave man who is afraid after the danger is past," she said.
"He has no time to think of fear until after the happening is all over. You
may have been afraid for me, Julian, but you could not have been afraid for
yourself, or otherwise you would not have taken the risk of catching me as I
fell. Even now I cannot understand how you were able to hold me."

"Perhaps," I reminded her, "I am stronger than the men of Va-nah, for my
earthly muscles are accustomed to overcoming a gravity six times as great as
that upon your world. Had this same accident happened upon Earth I might not
have been able to hold you when you fell."

THE tunnel in which I found myself and along which
Nah-ee-lah led me toward the city of Laythe was remarkable in several
particulars. It was largely of natural origin, seemingly consisting of a
series of caves which may have been formed by bubbles in the cooling lava of
the original molten flow and which had later been connected by man to form a
continuous subterranean corridor. The caves themselves were usually more or
less spherical in shape and the debris from the connecting passageways had
been utilized to fill the bottoms of them to the level of the main floor of
the passageway. The general trend of the tunnel was upward from the point at
which we had entered it, and there was a constant draught of air rushing
along it in the same direction in which we were moving, assuring me that it
was undoubtedly well ventilated for its full length. The walls and ceiling
were coated with a substance of which radium was evidently one of the
ingredients, since even after we had lost sight of the entrance the
passageway was well illuminated. We had been moving along in silence for
quite a little distance when I finally addressed Nah-ee-lah.

"It must seem good," I said, "to travel again this familiar tunnel of your
native city. I know how happy I should be were I thus approaching my own
birthplace."

"I am glad to be returning to Laythe," she said, "for many reasons, but
for one I am sorry, and as for this passageway it is scarcely more familiar
to me than to you, since I have traversed it but once before in my life and
that when I was a little girl and came here with my father and his court upon
the occasion of his periodical inspection of the passageway, which is now
practically never used."

"If you are not familiar with the tunnel," I asked, "are you sure that
there is no danger of our going astray at some fork or branch?"

"There is but the one passageway," she replied, "which leads from the
crater to Laythe."

"And how long is the tunnel?" I asked. "Will we soon enter the city?"

"No," she replied, "it is a great distance from the crater to Laythe."

We had covered some little distance at this time, possibly five or six
miles, and she had scarcely ceased speaking when a turn in the passageway led
us into a cave of larger proportions than any through which we had previously
passed and from the opposite side of which two passageways diverged.

"I thought there were no branches," I remarked.

"I do not understand it," she said. "There is no branch from the tunnel of
Laythe."

"Could it be possible that we are in the wrong tunnel?" I asked, "and that
this does not lead to Laythe?"

"A moment before I should have been sure that we were in the right
tunnel," she replied, "but now, Julian, I do not know, for never had I heard
of any branch of our own tunnel."

We had crossed the cave and were standing between the openings of the two
divergent passageways.

"Which one shall we take?" I asked, but again she shook her head.

"I do not know," she replied.

"Listen!" I cautioned her. "What was that?" For I was sure that I had
heard a sound issuing from one of the tunnels.

We stood peering into an aperture which revealed about a hundred yards of
the passageway before an abrupt turn hid the continuation of it from our
view. We could hear what now resolved itself into the faint sound of voices
approaching us along the corridor, and then quite suddenly the figure of a
man appeared around the corner of the turn. Nah-ee-lah leaped to one side out
of sight, drawing me with her.

"A Kalkar!" she whispered. "Oh, Julian, if they find us we are lost."

"If there is only one of them I can take care of him," I said.

"There will be more than one," she replied; "there will be many."

"Then, let us return the way we came and make our way to the top of the
crater's rim before they discover us. We can throw their hooked poles into
the crater, including the one which we used to ascend from the mouth of the
tunnel, thus effectually preventing any pursuit."

"We cannot cross this room again to the tunnel upon the opposite side
without being apprehended," she replied. "Our only hope is in hiding in this
other tunnel until they have passed and trusting to chance that we meet no
one within it."

"Come, then," I said. "I dislike the idea of flying like a scared rabbit,
but neither would there be any great wisdom in facing armed men without a
single weapon of defense."

Even as we had whispered thus briefly together, we found the voices from
the other tunnel had increased and I thought that I noted a tone of
excitement in them, though the speakers were still too far away for us to
understand their words. We moved swiftly up the branch tunnel, Nah-ee-lah in
the lead, and after passing the first turn we both felt comparatively safe,
for Nah-ee-lah was sure that the men who had interrupted our journey were a
party of hunters on their way to the outer world by means of the crater
through which we had entered the tunnel and that they would not come up the
branch in which we were hiding. Thus believing, we halted after we were
safely out of sight and hearing of the large cave we had just left.

"That man was a Kalkar," said Nah-ee-lah, "which means that we are in the
wrong tunnel and that we must retrace our steps and continue our search for
Laythe upon the surface of the ground." Her voice sounded tired and listless,
as though hope had suddenly deserted her brave heart. We were standing
shoulder to shoulder in the narrow corridor and I could not resist the
impulse to place an arm about her and comfort her.

"Do not despair, Nah-ee-lah," I begged her; "we are no worse off than we
have been and much better off than before we escaped the Va-gas of Ga-va-go.
Then do you not recall that you mentioned one drawback to your return to
Laythe—that you might be as well off here as there? What was the
reason, Nah-ee-lah?"

"Ko-tah wants me in marriage," she replied. "Ko-tah is very powerful. He
expects one day to be Jemadar of Laythe. This he cannot be while I live
unless he marries me."

"Do you wish to marry him?" I asked.

"No," she said; "not now. Before—" she hesitated—"before I
left Laythe I did not care so very much; but now I know that I cannot wed
with Ko-tah."

"And your father," I continued, "what of him—will he insist that you
marry Ko-tah?"

"He cannot do otherwise," replied Nah-ee-lah, "for Ko-tah is very
powerful. If my father refuses to permit me to marry him Ko-tah may overthrow
him, and when my father is dead, should I still refuse to marry Ko-tah he may
slay me, also, and then become Jemadar easily, for the blood of Jemadars
flows in his veins."

"It appears to me, Nah-ee-lah, that you will be about as badly off at home
as anywhere else in Va-nah. It is too bad that I cannot take you to my own
Earth, where you would be quite safe, and I am sure, happy."

"I wish that you might, Julian," she replied simply.

I was about to reply when she placed slim fingers upon my lips. "Hush,
Julian!" she whispered, "they are following us up this corridor. Come
quickly, we must escape before they overtake us," and so saying, she turned
and ran quickly along the corridor which led neither of us knew whither.

But we were soon to find out, for we had gone but a short distance when we
came to the tunnel's end in a large circular chamber, at one end of which was
a rostrum upon which were a massive, elaborately carved desk and a chair of
similar design. Below the rostrum were arranged other chairs in rows, with a
broad aisle down the center. The furniture, though of peculiar design and
elaborately carved with strange figures of unearthly beasts and reptiles, was
not, for all of that, markedly dissimilar to articles of the same purpose
fabricated upon Earth. The chairs had four legs, high backs and broad arms,
seeming to have been designed equally for durability, service, and
comfort.

I glanced quickly around the apartment, as we first entered, only taking
in the details later, but I saw that there was no other opening than the one
through which we had entered.

"We will have to wait here, Nah-ee-lah," I said. "Perhaps, though, all
will be well—the Kalkars may prove friendly."

She shook her head negatively. "No," she said, "they will not be
friendly."

"What will they do to us?" I asked.

"They will make slaves of us," she replied, "and we shall spend the
balance of our lives working almost continuously until we drop with fatigue
under the cruelest of taskmasters, for the Kalkars hate us of Laythe and will
hesitate at nothing that will humiliate or injure us."

She had scarcely ceased speaking when there appeared in the entrance of
the cave the figure of a man about my own height dressed in a tunic similar
to Nah-ee-lah's but evidently made of leather. He carried a knife slung in a
scabbard depending from a shoulder belt, and in his right hand he grasped a
slender lance. His eyes were close set upon either side of a prominent,
hooked nose. They were watery, fishy, blue eyes, and the hair growing
profusely above his low forehead was flaxen in color. His physique was
admirable, except for a noticeable stoop. His feet were very large and his
gait awkward when he moved. Behind him I could see the heads and shoulders of
others. They stood there grinning at us for a moment, most malevolently, it
seemed to me, and then they entered the cave—a full dozen of them.
There were several types, with eyes and hair of different colors, the former
ranging from blue to brown, the latter from light blond to almost
black.

They stood there grinning at us for a moment, most
malevolently.

As they emerged from the mouth of the tunnel they spread out and advanced
slowly toward us. We were cornered like rats in a trap. How I longed for the
feel of my automatic at my hip! I envied them their slender spears and their
daggers. If I could have but those I might have a chance at least to take
Nah-ee-lah out of their clutches and save her from the hideous fate of
slavery among the Kalkars, for I had guessed what such slavery would mean to
her from the little that she had told me, and I had guessed, too, that she
would rather die than submit to it. For my own part, life held little for me;
I had long since definitely given up any hope of ever returning to my own
world, or of finding the ship and being re-united with West and Jay and
Norton. There came upon me at that moment, however, a sense of appreciation
of the fact that since we had left the village of the No-vans I had been far
from unhappy, nor could I attribute this to aught else than the companionship
of Nah-ee-lah—a realization that convinced me that I should be utterly
miserable were she to be taken from me now. Was I to submit supinely then, to
capture and slavery for myself and worse than death for Nah-ee-lah, with the
assurance of consequent separation from her? No. I held up my hand as a
signal for the advancing Kalkars to halt.

"Stop!" I commanded. "Before you advance farther I wish to know your
intentions toward us. We entered this tunnel, mistaking it for that which led
to the city of my companion. Permit us to depart in peace and all will be
well."

"All will be well, anyway," replied the leader of the Kalkars. "You are a
strange creature, such as I have never before seen in Va-nah. Of you we know
nothing except that you are not of the Kalkars, and therefore an enemy of the
Kalkars, but this other is from Laythe."

"You will not permit us to go in peace, then?" I demanded.

He laughed sneeringly. "Nor in any other way," he said.

I had been standing in the aisle, with my hand upon one of the chairs near
the rostrum and now I turned to Nah-ee-lah who was standing close beside
me.

"Come," I said to her, "follow me; stay close behind me."

Several of the Kalkars were coming down the main aisle toward us, and as I
turned toward them from speaking to Nah-ee-lah, I raised the chair which my
hand had been resting upon, and swinging it quickly around my head hurled it
full in the face of the leader. As he went down Nah-ee-lah and I ran forward,
gaining a little toward the opening of the tunnel, and then without pausing I
hurled another chair and a third and a fourth, in rapid succession. The
Kalkars tried to bring us down with their lances, but they were so busy
dodging chairs that they could not cast their weapons accurately, and even
those few which might otherwise have struck us were warded off by my rather
remarkable engines of defense.

There had been four Kalkars advancing toward us down the center aisle. The
balance of the party had divided, half of it circling the cave to the left
and the other half to the right, with the evident intention of coming up the
center aisle from behind us. This maneuver had started just before I
commenced hurling chairs at the four directly in front of us, and now when
those who had intended to take us from the rear discovered that we were
likely to make our way through to the tunnel's entrance, some of them sprang
toward us along the passageways between the chairs, which necessitated my
turning and devoting a moment's attention to them. One huge fellow was in the
lead, coming across the backs of the chairs leaping from seat to seat; and
being the closest to me, he was naturally my first target. The chairs were
rather heavy and the one that I let drive at him caught him full in the chest
with an impact that brought a howl from him and toppled him over across the
backs of the chairs behind him, where he hung limp and motionless. Then I
turned my attention again to those before us, all of whom had fallen before
my massive ammunition. Three of them lay still, but one of them had scrambled
to his feet and was in the very act of casting his lance as I looked. I
stopped the weapon with a chair and as the fellow went down I caught a
glimpse of Nah-ee-lah from the corners of my eyes as she snatched the lance
from the first Kalkar who had fallen and hurled it at someone behind me. I
heard a scream of rage and pain and then I turned in time to see another of
the Kalkars fall almost at my feet, the lance imbedded in his heart.

The way before us was temporarily open, while the Kalkars behind us had
paused, momentarily, at least, in evident consternation at the havoc I
wrought with these unseemly weapons against which they had no defense.

"Get two knives and two lances from those who have fallen," I cried to
Nah-ee-lah, "while I hold these others back."

She did as I bade, and slowly we backed toward the mouth of the tunnel. My
chairs had accounted for half our enemies when at last we stood in the
opening, each armed with a lance and a knife.

"Now run, Nah-ee-lah, as you never ran before," I whispered to my
companion. "I can hold them off until you have reached the mouth of the
tunnel and clambered to the rim of the crater. If I am lucky, I will follow
you."

"I will not leave you, Julian," she replied, "we will go together or not
at all."

"But you must, Nah-ee-lah," I insisted, "it is for you that I have been
fighting them. What difference can it make in my fate where I am when in
Va-nah—all here are my enemies."

She laid her hand gently upon my arm. "I will not leave you, Julian," she
repeated, "and that is final."

The Kalkars within the room were now advancing toward us menacingly.

"Halt!" I cried to them, "you see what fate your companions have met,
because you would not let us go in peace. That is all we ask. I am armed now
and it will be death to any who follow us."

They paused and I saw them whispering together as Nah-ee-lah and I backed
along the corridor, a turn in which soon shut them from our view. Then we
wheeled and ran like deer along the winding passageway. I did not feel very
safe from capture at any time, but at least I breathed a sigh of relief after
we had passed the chamber from which the Kalkars had run us into the
cul-de-sac, and we had seen no sign of any other of their kind. We heard no
sound of pursuit, but that in itself meant nothing, since the Kalkars are
shod with soft leather sandals, the material for which, like all their other
leather trappings, is made of the skins of Va-gas and of the prisoners from
Laythe.

As we came to the pile of hooked poles which marked the last turn before
the entrance of the tunnel I breathed an inward sigh of relief. Stooping, I
gathered them all in my arms, and then we ran on to the opening into the
crater, where I cast all but one of the poles into the abyss. That which I
retained I hooked over the lip of the crater and then, turning to Nah-ee-lah,
I bade her ascend.

"You should have saved two of the poles," she said, "and then we could
have ascended together; but I will make haste and you can follow me
immediately, for we do not know but that they are pursuing us. I cannot
imagine that they will let us escape thus easily."

Even as she spoke I heard the soft patter of sandal shod feet up the
corridor.

"Make haste, Nah-ee-lah," I cried; "they come!"

"Make haste, Nah-ee-lah," I cried; "they come!"

Climbing a pole is slow work at best, but when one is suspended over the
brink of a bottomless chasm and is none too sure of the security of the hook
that is holding the pole above, one must needs move cautiously. Yet, even so,
Nah-ee-lah scrambled upward so rapidly as to fill me with apprehension for
her safety. Nor were my fears entirely groundless, for standing in the mouth
of the tunnel, where I could keep one eye upon Nah-ee-lah and the other
toward the turn around which my pursuers would presently come in view, I saw
the girl's hands grasp the rim of the crater at the very instant that the
hook came loose and the pole dropped past me into the abyss. I might have
caught it as it fell, but my whole mind was fixed upon Nah-ee-lah and her
grave danger. Would she be able to draw herself upward, or would she fall? I
saw her straining frantically to raise her body above the edge of the
volcano, and then from up the corridor behind me came an exultant cry and I
turned to face a brawny Kalkar who was racing toward me.

NOW, indeed, did I have reason to curse the stupidity that
had permitted me to cast into the abyss all of the hooked poles save one,
since even this one was now lost to me and I was utterly without means of
escape from the tunnel.

As the fellow approached me at a rapid run I hurled my lance, but being
unaccustomed to the weapon, I missed, and then he was upon me, dropping his
own lance as he leaped for me, for it was evidently his desire to take me
alive and unharmed. I thought that I was going to have him now, for I
believed that I was more than a match for him, but there are tricks in every
method of attack and this lunar warrior was evidently well schooled in his
own methods of offense. He scarcely seemed to touch me, and yet he managed to
trip me and push me simultaneously so that I fell heavily backward to the
ground and turning a little sideways as I fell, I must have struck my head
against the side of the tunnel, for that is the last that I remember until I
regained consciousness in the very cave that Nah-ee-lah and I had reached
when we saw the first of the Kalkars. I was surrounded by a party of eight of
the Kalkars, two of whom were half carrying, half dragging me. I learned
later that in the fight before the rostrum I had killed four of their
number.

The fellow who had captured me was in very good humor, doubtless because
of his success, and when he discovered that I had regained consciousness he
started to converse with me.

"You thought that you could escape from Gapth, did you?" he cried, "but
never; you might escape from the others, but not from me—no, not from
Gapth."

"I did the principal thing that I desired to do," I replied, wishing to
learn if Nah-ee-lah had escaped.

"What is that?" demanded Gapth.

"I succeeded in accomplishing the escape of my companion," I replied.

He made a wry face at that. "If Gapth had been there a moment earlier she
would not have escaped, either," he said, and by that I knew that she had
escaped, unless she had fallen back into the crater; and I was amply repaid
for my own capture if it had won freedom for Nah-ee-lah.

"Although I did not escape this time," I said, "I shall next time."

He laughed a nasty laugh. "There will be no next time," he said, "for we
are taking you to the city, and once there, there is no escape, for this is
the only avenue by which you can reach the outer world and once within the
city you never can retrace your steps to the mouth of the tunnel."

I was not so sure of that, myself, for my sense of direction and that of
location are very well developed within me. The degree of perfection attained
in orientation by many officers of the International Peace Fleet has been
described as almost miraculous, and even among such as these my ability in
this line was a matter of comment. I was glad, therefore, that the fellow had
warned me, since now I should be particularly upon the watch for each
slightest scrap of information that would fix in my memory whatever route I
might be led over. From the cave in which I regained consciousness there was
but a single route to the mouth of the tunnel, but from here on into the city
I must watch every turn and fork and crossing and draw upon the tablets of my
memory an accurate and detailed map of the entire route.

"We do not even have to confine our prisoners," continued Gapth, "after we
have so marked them that their ownership may always be determined."

"How do you mark them?" I asked.

"With heated irons we make the mark of the owner here," and he touched my
forehead just above my eyes.

"Pleasant," I thought to myself, and then aloud: "Shall I belong to
you?"

"I do not know," he replied, "but you will belong to whomever The
Twenty-four allot you."

We moved on after we left the cave for a considerable period of time in
silence. I was busy making mental notes of every salient feature that might
be useful to me in retracing my steps, but I found nothing other than a
winding and gently ascending corridor, without crossings or branches, until
we reached the foot of a long flight of stone steps at the summit of which we
emerged into a large chamber in the walls of which there must have been at
least a dozen doorways, where, to my great disappointment, I was immediately
blind-folded. They whirled me around then, but evidently it was done
perfunctorily, since it was exactly one full turn and I was halted in my
tracks facing precisely in the same direction that I had been before. This I
was positive of, for our powers of orientation are often tested in this way
in the air service. Then they marched me straight forward across the room
through a doorway directly opposite that at which I had entered the chamber.
I could tell when we left the larger chamber and entered the corridor from
the different sound which our footsteps made. We advanced along this corridor
ninety-seven paces, when we turned abruptly to the right and at the end of
thirty-three paces emerged into another chamber, as I could easily tell again
from the sound of our footsteps the instant we crossed the threshold. They
led me about this chamber a couple of times with the evident intention of
bewildering me, but in this they did not succeed, for when they turned again
into a corridor I knew that it was the same corridor from which I had just
emerged and that I was retracing my steps. This time they took me back
thirty-three paces and then turned abruptly to the right. I could not but
smile to myself when I realized that we were now continuing directly along
the same corridor as that which we had entered immediately after they had
first blindfolded me, their little excursion through the short corridor into
the second chamber having been but a ruse to bewilder me. A moment later, at
the foot of a flight of steps they removed the blind, evidently satisfied
that there was now no chance of my being able to retrace my steps and find
the main tunnel leading to the crater, while, as a matter of fact, I could
easily have retraced every foot of it blindfolded.

From here on we climbed interminable stairways, passed through numerous
corridors and chambers, all of which were illuminated by the radium-bearing
substance which coated their walls and ceilings, and then we emerged suddenly
upon a terrace into the open air, and I obtained my first view of a lunar
city. It was built around a crater, and the buildings were terraced back from
the rim, the terraces being generally devoted to the raising of garden truck
and the principal fruit-bearing trees and shrubs. The city extended upward
several hundred feet, the houses, as I learned later, being built one upon
another, the great majority of them, therefore, being without windows looking
upon the outer world.

We emerged upon a terrace, and I obtained my first view
of a lunar city.

I was led along the terrace for a short distance, and during this brief
opportunity for observation I deduced that the cultivated terraces lay upon
the roofs of the tier of buildings next below. To my right I could see the
terraced steps extending downward to the rim of the crater. Nearly all the
terraces were covered with vegetation, and in numerous places I saw what
appeared to be Va-gas feeding upon the plants, and this I later learned was
the fact, and that the Kalkars, when they are able to capture members of the
race of Va-gas, keep them in captivity and breed them as we breed cattle, for
their flesh. It is necessary, to some extent, to change the diet of the
Va-gas almost exclusively to vegetation, though this diet is supplemented by
the flesh of the Kalkars, and their Laythean slaves who die, the Va-gas thus
being compelled to serve the double purpose of producing flesh for the
Kalkars and acting as their scavengers as well.

Upon my left were the faces of buildings, uniformly two stories in height,
with an occasional slender tower rising fifteen, twenty or sometimes as high
as thirty feet from the terraced roofs above. It was into one of these
buildings that my captors led me after we had proceeded a short distance
along the terrace, and I found myself in a large apartment in which were a
number of male Kalkars, and at a desk facing the entrance a large, entirely
bald man who appeared to be of considerable age. To this person I was led by
Gapth, who narrated my capture and the escape of Na-ee-lah.

The fellow before whom I had been brought questioned me briefly. He made
no comment when I told him that I was from another world, but he examined my
garments rather carefully and then after a moment turned to Gapth.

"We will hold him for questioning by The Twenty-four," he said. "If he is
not of Va-nah he is neither Kalkar nor Laythean, and consequently, he must be
flesh of a lower order and therefore may be eaten." He paused a moment and
fell to examining a large book which seemed to be filled with plans upon
which strange hieroglyphics appeared. He turned over several leaves, and
finally coming evidently to the page he sought, he ran a forefinger slowly
over it until it came to rest near the center of the page. "You may confine
him here," he said to Gapth, "in chamber eight of the twenty-fourth section,
at the seventh elevation, and you will produce him upon orders from The
Twenty-four when next they meet," and then to me: "It is impossible for you
to escape from the city, but if you attempt it, it may be difficult for us to
find you again immediately and when we do you will be tortured to death as an
example to other slaves. Go!"

I went; following Gapth and the others who had conducted me to the
presence of this creature. They led me back into the very corridor from which
we had emerged upon the terrace and then straight into the heart of that
amazing pile for fully half a mile, where they shoved me roughly into an
apartment at the right of the corridor with the admonition that I stay there
until I was wanted.

I found myself in a dimly lighted, rectangular room, the air of which was
very poor, and at the first glance I discovered that I was not alone, for
upon a bench against the opposite wall sat a man. He looked up as I entered
and I saw that his features were very fine and that he had black hair like
Nah-ee-lah. He looked at me for a moment with a puzzled expression in his
eyes and then he addressed me.

"You, too, are a slave?" he asked.

"I am not a slave," I replied, "I am a prisoner."

"It is all the same," he said; "but from whence come you? I have never
seen your like before in Va-nah."

"I do not come from Va-nah," I replied, and then I briefly explained my
origin and how I came to be in his world. He did not understand me, I am
sure, for although he seemed to be, and really was, highly intelligent, he
could not conceive of any condition concerning which he had had no experience
and in this way he did not differ materially from intelligent and highly
educated Earth Men.

"And you," I asked, at length—"you are not a Kalkar? From whence
come you?"

"I am from Laythe," he replied. "I fell outside the city and was captured
by one of their hunting parties."

"Why all this enmity," I asked, "between the men of Laythe and the Kalkars
—who are the Kalkars, anyway?"

"You are not of Va-nah," he said, "that I can see, or you would not ask
these questions. The Kalkars derive their name from a corruption of a word
meaning The Thinkers. Ages ago we were one race, a prosperous people living
at peace with all the world of Va-nah. The Va-gas we bred for flesh, as we do
today within our own city of Laythe and as the Kalkars do within their city.
Our cities, towns and villages covered the slopes of the mountains and
stretched downward to the sea. No corner of the three oceans but knew our
ships, and our cities were joined together by a network of routes along which
passed electrically driven trains"—he did not use the word trains, but
an expression which might be liberally translated as ships of the land
—"while other great carriers flew through the air. Our means of
communication between distant points were simplified by science through the
use of electrical energy, with the result that those who lived in one part of
Va-nah could talk with those who lived in any other part of Va-nah, though it
were to the remotest ends of the world. There were ten great divisions, each
ruled by its Jemadar, and each division vied with all the others in the
service which it rendered to its people. There were those who held high
positions and those who held low; there were those who were rich and those
who were poor, but the favors of the state were distributed equally among
them, and the children of the poor had the same opportunities for education
as the children of the rich, and there it was that our troubles first
started. There is a saying among us that 'no learning is better than a
little,' and I can well believe this true when I consider the history of my
world, where, as the masses became a little educated, there developed among
them a small coterie that commenced to find fault with everyone who had
achieved greater learning or greater power than they. Finally, they organized
themselves into a secret society called The Thinkers, but known more
accurately to the rest of Va-nah as those who thought that they thought. It
is a long story, for it covers a great period of time, but the result was
that, slowly at first, and later rapidly, The Thinkers, who did more talking
than thinking, filled the people with dissatisfaction, until at last they
arose and took over the government and commerce of the entire world. The
Jemadars were overthrown and the ruling class driven from power, the majority
of them being murdered, though some managed to escape, and it was these, my
ancestors, who founded the city of Laythe. It is believed that there are
other similar cities in remote parts of Va-nah inhabited by the descendants
of the Jemadar and noble classes, but Laythe is the only one of which we have
knowledge. The Thinkers would not work, and the result was that both
government and commerce fell into rapid decay. They not only had neither the
training nor the intelligence to develop new things, but they could not carry
out the old that had been developed for them. The arts and sciences
languished and died with commerce and government, and Va-nah fell back into
barbarism. The Va-gas saw their chance and threw off the yoke that had held
them through countless ages. As the Kalkars had driven the noble class into
the lofty mountains, so the Va-gas drove the Kalkars. Practically every
vestige of the ancient culture and commercial advancement of Va-nah has been
wiped from the face of the world. The Laytheans have held their own for many
centuries, but their numbers have not increased.

"Many generations elapsed before the Laytheans found sanctuary in the city
of Laythe, and during that period they, too, lost all touch with the science
and advancement and the culture of the past. Nor was there any way in which
to rebuild what the Kalkars had torn down, since they had destroyed every
written record and every book in every library in Va-nah. And so occupied are
both races in eking out a precarious existence that there is little
likelihood that there will ever again be any advancement made along these
lines—it is beyond the intellectual powers of the Kalkars, and the
Laytheans are too weak numerically to accomplish aught."

"It does look hopeless," I said, "almost as hopeless as our situation.
There is no escape, I imagine, from this Kalkar city, is there?"

"No," he said, "none whatever. There is only one avenue and we are so
confused when we are brought into the city that it would be impossible for us
to find our way out again through this labyrinth of corridors and
chambers."

"And if we did win our way to the outer world we would be as bad off, I
presume, for we could never find Laythe, and sooner or later would be
recaptured by the Kalkars or taken by the Va-gas. Am I not right?"

"No," he said, "you are not right. If I could reach the rim of the crater
beyond this city I could find my way to Laythe. I know the way well, for I am
one of Ko-tah's hunters and am thoroughly familiar with the country for great
distances in all directions from Laythe."

So this was one of Ko-tah's men. I was glad, indeed, that I had not
mentioned Nah-ee-lah or told him of her possible escape, or of my
acquaintance with her.

"And who is Ko-tah?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

"Ko-tah is the most powerful noble of Laythe," he replied, "some day he
will be Jemadar, for now that Nah-ee-lah, the Princess, is dead, and Sagroth,
the Jemadar, grows old, it will not be long before there is a change."

"And if the Princess should return to Laythe," I asked, "would Ko-tah
still become Jemadar then, upon the death of Sagroth?"

"He would become Jemadar in any event," replied my companion, "for had the
Princess not been carried off by the air that runs away, Ko-tah would have
married her, unless she refused, in which event she might have died—
people do die, you know."

"You feel no loyalty, then," I asked, "for your old Jemadar, Sagroth, or
for his daughter, the Princess?"

"On the contrary, I feel every loyalty toward them, but like many others,
I am afraid of Ko-tah, for he is very powerful and we know that sooner or
later he will become ruler of Laythe. That is why so many of the high nobles
have attached themselves to him—it is not through love of Ko-tah, but
through fear that he recruits his ranks."

"But the Princess!" I exclaimed, "would the nobles not rally to her
defense?"

"What would be the use?" he asked. "We of Laythe do but exist in the
narrow confines of our prison city. There is no great future to which we may
look forward in this life, but future incarnations may hold for us a brighter
prospect. It is no cruelty, then, to kill those who exist now under the
chaotic reign of anarchy which has reduced Va-nah to a wilderness."

I partially caught his rather hopeless point of view and realized that the
fellow was not bad or disloyal at heart, but like all his race, reduced to a
state of hopelessness that was the result of ages of retrogression to which
they could see no end.

"I can find the way to the mouth of the tunnel where it opens into the
crater," I told him. "But how can we reach it unarmed through a city
populated with our enemies who would slay us on sight?"

"There are never very many people in the chambers or corridors far removed
from the outer terraces, and if we were branded upon the forehead, as
accepted slaves are, and your apparel was not so noticeable, we might
possibly reach the tunnel without weapons."

"Yes," I said, "my clothes are a handicap. They would immediately call
attention to us; yet, it is worth risking, for I know that I can find my way
back to the crater and I should rather die than remain a slave of the
Kalkars."

The truth of the matter was that I was not prompted so much by abhorrence
of the fate that seemed in store for me, as by a desire to learn if
Nah-ee-lah had escaped. I was constantly haunted by the horrid fear that her
hold upon the rim of the crater had given and that she had fallen into the
abyss below. Gapth had thought that she had escaped, but I knew that she
might have fallen without either of us having seen her, since the pole up
which she had clambered had been fastened a little beyond the opening of the
tunnel, so that, had her hold become loosened, she would not have fallen
directly past the aperture. The more I thought of it, the more anxious I
became to reach Laythe and institute a search for her.

While we were still discussing our chances of escape, two slaves brought
us food in the shape of raw vegetables and fruit. I scanned them carefully
for weapons, but they had none, a circumstance to which they may owe their
lives. I could have used their garments, had they been other than slaves, but
I had hit upon a bolder plan than this and must wait patiently for a
favorable opportunity to put it into practice.

After eating I became sleepy and was about to stretch out upon the floor
of our prison when my companion, whose name was Moh-goh, told me that there
was a sleeping apartment adjoining the room in which we were, that had been
set apart for us.

The doorway leading to the sleeping chamber was covered by heavy hangings,
and as I parted them and stepped into the adjoining chamber, I found myself
in almost total darkness, the walls and ceiling of this room not having been
treated with the illuminating coating used in the corridors and apartments
which they wished to maintain in a lighted condition. I later learned that
all their sleeping apartments were thus naturally dark. In one corner of the
room was a pile of dried vegetation which I discovered must answer the
purpose of mattress and covering, should I require any. However, I was not so
particular, as I had been accustomed to only the roughest of fare since I had
left my luxurious stateroom aboard the Barsoom. How long I slept I do
not know, but I was awakened by Moh-goh calling me. He was leaning over me,
shaking me by the shoulder.

"You are wanted," he whispered. "They have come to take us before The
Twenty-four."

"Tell them to go to the devil," I said, for I was very sleepy and only
half awake. Of course, he did not know what devil meant, but evidently he
judged from my tone that my reply was disrespectful to the Kalkars.

"Do not anger them," he said, "it will only make your fate the harder.
When The Twenty-four command, all must obey."

"Who are The Twenty-four?" I demanded.

"They compose the committee that rules this Kalkar city."

I was thoroughly awakened now and rose to my feet, following him into the
adjoining chamber, where I saw two Kalkar warriors standing impatiently
awaiting us. As I saw them a phrase leaped to my brain and kept repeating
itself: "There are but two, there are but two."

They were across the room from us, standing by the entrance, and Moh-goh
was close to me.

"There are but two," I whispered to him in a low voice, "you take one and
I will take the other. Do you dare?"

"I will take the one at the right," he replied, and together we advanced
across the room slowly toward the unsuspecting warriors. The moment that we
were in reach of them we leaped for them simultaneously. I did not see how
Moh-goh attacked his man, for I was busy with my own, though it took me but
an instant to settle him, for I struck him a single terrific blow upon the
chin and as he fell I leaped upon him, wresting his dagger from its scabbard
and plunging it into his heart before he could regain his senses from the
stunning impact of my fist. Then I turned to assist Moh-goh, only to discover
that he needed no assistance, but was already arising from the body of his
antagonist, whose throat was cut from ear to ear with his own weapon.

"Quick!" I cried to Moh-goh, "drag them into the sleeping apartment before
we are discovered," and a moment later we had deposited the two corpses in
the dimly lighted apartment adjoining.

"We will leave the city as Kalkar warriors," I said, commencing to strip
the accoutrements and garments from the man I had slain.

Moh-goh grinned. "Not a bad idea," he said. "If you can find the route to
the crater it is possible that we may yet escape."

It took us but a few moments to effect the change, and after we had hidden
the bodies beneath the vegetation that had served us as a bed and stepped out
into the other chamber, where we could have a good look at one another, we
realized that if we were not too closely scrutinized we might pass safely
through the corridors beneath the Kalkar city, for the Kalkars are a mongrel
breed, comprising many divergent types. My complexion, which differed
outrageously from that of either the Kalkars or the Laytheans, constituted
our greatest danger, but we must take the chance, and at least we were
armed.

"Lead the way," said Moh-goh, "and if you can find the crater I can assure
you that I can find Laythe."

"Very good," I said, "come," and stepping into the corridor I moved off
confidently in the direction that I knew I should find the passageways and
stairs along which I had been conducted from the crater tunnel. I was as
confident of success as though I were traversing the most familiar precinct
of my native city.

We traveled a considerable distance without meeting anyone, and at last
reached the chamber in which I had been blindfolded. As we entered it I saw
fully a score of Kalkars lolling upon benches or lying upon vegetation that
was piled upon the floor. They looked up as we entered, and at the same time
Moh-goh stepped in front of me.

"Who are you and where are you going?" demanded one of the Kalkars.

"By order of The Twenty-four," said Moh-goh, and stepped into the room.
Instantly I realized that he did not know in which direction to go, and that
by his hesitancy all might be lost.

"Straight ahead, straight across the room," I whispered to him, and he
stepped out briskly in the direction of the entrance to the tunnel.
Fortunately for us, the chamber was not brilliantly lighted, and the Kalkars
were at the far end of it; otherwise they must certainly have discovered my
deception, at least, since any sort of close inspection would have revealed
the fact that I was not of Va-nah. However, they did not halt us, though I
was sure that I saw one of them eyeing me suspiciously, and I venture to say
that I took the last twenty steps without drawing a breath.

It was quickly over, however, and we had entered the tunnel which now led
without further confusing ramifications directly to the crater.

"We were fortunate," I said to Moh-goh.

"That we were," he replied.

In silence, then, that we might listen for pursuit, or for the sound of
Kalkars ahead of us, we hastened rapidly along the descending passageway
toward the mouth of the tunnel where it opened into the crater; and at last,
as we rounded the last turn and I saw the light of day ahead of me, I
breathed a deep sigh of relief, though almost simultaneously my happiness
turned to despair at the sudden recollection that there were no hooked poles
here to assist us to the summit of the crater wall. What were we to do?

"Moh-goh," I said, turning to my companion as we halted at the end of the
tunnel, "there are no poles with which to ascend. I had forgotten it, but in
order to prevent the Kalkars from ascending after me, I threw all but one
into the abyss, and that one slipped from the rim and was lost also, just as
my pursuers were about to seize me."

I had not told Moh-goh that I had had a companion, since it would be
difficult to answer any questions he might propound on the subject without
revealing the identity of Nah-ee-lah.

"Oh, we can overcome that," replied my companion. "We have these two
spears, which are extremely stout, and inasmuch as we shall have plenty of
time, we can easily arrange them in some way that will permit us to ascend to
the summit of the crater. It is very fortunate that we were not pursued."

The Kalkar's spears had a miniature crescent-shaped hook at the base of
their point similar to the larger ones affected by the Va-gas. Moh-goh
thought that we could fasten the two spears securely together and then catch
the small hook of the upper one upon the rim of the crater, testing its hold
thoroughly before either of us attempted to ascend. Beneath his tunic he wore
a rope coiled around his waist which he explained to me was a customary part
of the equipment of all Laytheans. It was his idea to tie one end of this
around the waist of whichever of us ascended first, the other going as far
back into the tunnel as possible and bracing himself, so that in the event
that the climber fell, he would be saved from death, though I figured that he
would get a rather nasty shaking up and some bad bruises, under the best of
circumstances.

I volunteered to go first and began fastening one end of the rope securely
about my waist while Moh-goh made the two spears fast together with a short
length that he had cut from the other end. He worked rapidly, with deft,
nimble fingers, and seemed to know pretty well what he was doing. In the
event that I reached the summit in safety, I was to pull up the spears and
then haul Moh-goh up by the rope.

Having fastened the rope to my satisfaction, I stood as far out upon the
ledge before the entrance to the tunnel as I safely could, and with my back
toward the crater looked up at the rim twenty feet above me, in a vain
attempt to select from below, if possible, a reasonably secure point upon
which to hook the spear. As I stood thus upon the edge of eternity, steadying
myself with one hand against the tunnel wall, there came down to me from out
of the tunnel a noise which I could not mistake. Moh-goh heard it, too, and
looked at me, with a rueful shake of his head and a shrug of his
shoulders.

"Everything is against us, Earth Man," he said, for this was the name he
had given me when I told him what my world was called.

THE pursuers were not yet in sight, but I knew from the
nearness of the sound of approaching footsteps that it would be impossible to
complete the splicing of the spears, to find a secure place for the hook
above, and for me to scramble upward to the rim of the crater and haul
Moh-goh after me before they should be upon us. Our position looked almost
hopeless. I could think of no avenue of escape, and yet I tried, and as I
stood there with bent head, my eyes cast upon the floor of the tunnel, they
fell upon the neatly coiled rope lying at my feet, one end of which was
fastened securely about my waist. Instantly there flashed into my mind a mad
inspiration. I glanced up at the overhanging rim above me. Could I do it?
There was a chance—the lesser gravity of the Moon placed the thing
within the realm of possibility, and yet by all earthly standards it was
impossible. I did not wait, I could not wait, for had I given the matter any
thought I doubt that I would have had the nerve to attempt it. Behind me lay
a cavern opening into the depths of space, into which I should be dashed if
my mad plan failed; but, what of it? Better death than slavery. I stooped
low, then, and concentrating every faculty upon absolute coordination of mind
and muscles, I leaped straight upward with all the strength of my legs.

And in that instant during which my life hung in the balance, of what did
I think? Of home, of Earth, of the friends of my childhood? No—of a
pale and lovely face, with great, dark eyes and a perfect forehead,
surmounted by a wealth of raven hair. It was the image of Nah-ee-lah, the
Moon Maid, that I would have carried with me into eternity, had I died that
instant.

But, I did not die. My leap carried me above the rim of the crater, where
I lunged forward and fell sprawling, my arms and upper body upon the surface
of the ground. Instantly I turned about and lying upon my belly, seized the
rope in both hands.

"Quick, Moh-goh!" I cried to my companion below; "make the rope fast about
you, keep hold of the spears and I will drag you up!"

"Pull away," he answered me instantly, "I have no time to make the rope
fast about me. They are almost upon me, pull away and be quick about it."

I did as he bade, and a moment later his hands grasped the rim of the
crater and with my assistance he gained the top, dragging the spears after
him. For a moment he stood there in silence looking at me with a most
peculiar expression upon his face; then he shook his head.

"I do not understand, yet," he said, "how you did it, but it was very
wonderful."

"I scarcely expected to accomplish it in safety, myself," I replied, "but
anything is better than slavery."

From below us came the voices of the Kalkars in angry altercation. Moh-goh
picked up a fragment of rock, and leaning over the edge of the crater, threw
it down among them. "I got one," he said, turning to me with a laugh, "he
tumbled off into nothing; they hate that. They believe that there is no
reincarnation for those who fall into a crater."

"Do you think that they will try to follow us?" I asked.

"No," he said, "they will be afraid to use their hooked poles here for a
long time, lest we should be in the neighborhood and shove them off into the
crater. I will drop another rock down if any of them are in sight and then we
will go upon our way. I do not fear them here in the hills, anyway. There is
always plenty of broken stone upon the level places, and we of Laythe are
trained to use it most effectively—almost as far as I can throw, I can
score a hit."

The Kalkars had withdrawn into the tunnel, so Moh-goh lost his opportunity
to despatch another, and presently turned away from the crater and set out
into the mountains following close behind.

I can assure you that I felt much better, now that I was armed with a
spear and a knife, and as we walked I practiced casting stones, at Moh-goh's
suggestion and under his instruction, until I became rather proficient in the
art.

I shall not weary you with a narration of our journey to Laythe. How long
it took, I do not know. It may have consumed a day, a week, a month, for time
seemed quite a meaningless term in Va-nah, but at length, after clambering
laboriously from the bottom of a deep gorge, we stood upon the edge of a
rolling plateau, and at some little distance beheld what at first appeared to
be a cone-shaped mountain, rising fully a mile into the air above the surface
of the plateau.

"There," cried Moh-goh, "is Laythe! The crater where lies the entrance to
the tunnel leading to the city is beyond it."

As we approached the city, the base of which we must skirt in order to
reach the crater beyond, I was able to obtain a better idea of the dimensions
and methods of construction of this great interior lunar city, the base of
which was roughly circular and about six miles in diameter, ranging from a
few hundred to a thousand feet above the level of the plateau. The base of
the city appeared to be the outer wall of an ancient extinct volcano, the
entire summit of which had been blown off during some terrific eruption of a
bygone age. Upon this base the ancient Laytheans had commenced the
construction of their city, the houses of which rose one upon another as did
those of the Kalkar city from which we had just escaped. The great age of
Laythe was attested by the tremendous height to which these superimposed
buildings had arisen, the loftiest wall of Laythe now rising fully a mile
above the floor of the plateau. Narrow terraces encircled the periphery of
the towering city, and as we approached more closely I saw doors and windows
opening upon the terraces and figures moving to and fro, the whole resembling
closely an enormous hive of bees. When we had reached a point near the base
of the city, I saw that we had been discovered, for directly above us there
were people at various points who were unquestionably looking down at us and
commenting upon us.

"They have seen us from above," I said to Moh-goh, "why don't you hail
them?"

"They take us for Kalkars," he replied. "It is easier for us to enter the
city by way of the tunnel, where I shall have no difficulty in establishing
my identity."

"If they think we are Kalkars," I said, "will they not attack us?"

"No," he replied, "Kalkars often pass Laythe. If they do not try to enter
the city, we do not molest them."

"Your people fear them, then?" I asked.

"It practically amounts to that," he replied. "They greatly outnumber us,
perhaps a thousand to one, and as they are without justice, mercy or honor we
try not to antagonize them unnecessarily."

We came at length to the mouth of the crater, and here Moh-goh looped his
rope about the base of a small tree growing close to the rim and slipped down
to the opening of the tunnel directly beneath. I followed his example, and
when I was beside him Moh-goh pulled the rope in, coiled it about his waist,
and we set off along the passageway leading toward Laythe.

After my long series of adventures with unfriendly people in Va-nah, I had
somewhat the sensation of one returning home after a long absence, for
Moh-goh had assured me that the people of Laythe would receive me well and
that I should be treated as a friend. He even assured me that he would
procure for me a good berth in the service of Ko-tah. My greatest regret now
was for Nah-ee-lah, and that she was not my companion, instead of Moh-goh. I
was quite sure that she was lost, for had she escaped, falling back into the
crater outside the Kalkar city, I doubted that she could successfully have
found her way to Laythe. My heart had been heavy since we had been separated,
and I had come to realize that the friendship of this little Moon Maid had
meant a great deal more to me than I had thought. I could scarcely think of
her now without a lump coming into my throat, for it seemed cruel, indeed,
that one so young and lovely should have met so untimely an end.

The distance between the crater and the city of Laythe is not great, and
presently we came directly out upon the lower terrace within the city. This
terrace is at the very rim of the crater around which Laythe is built. And
here we ran directly into the arms of a force of about fifty warriors.

Moh-goh emerged from the tunnel with his spear grasped in both hands high
above his head, the point toward the rear, and I likewise, since he had
cautioned me to do so. So surprised were the warriors to see any creatures
emerge from this tunnel, which had been so long disused, that we were likely
to have been slain before they realized that we had come before them with the
signal of peace.

The guard that is maintained at the inner opening of the tunnel is
considered by the Laytheans as more or less of an honorary assignment, the
duties of which are performed perfunctorily.

"What do you here, Kalkars?" exclaimed the commander of the guard.

"We are not Kalkars," replied my companion. "I am Moh-goh the Paladar, and
this be my friend. Can it be that you, Ko-vo the Kamadar, do not know
me?"

"Ah!" cried the commander of the guard, "it is, indeed, Moh-goh the
Paladar. You have been given up as lost."

"I was lost, indeed, had it not been for this, my friend," replied
Moh-goh, nodding his head in my direction. "I was captured by the Kalkars and
incarcerated in City No. 337."

"You escaped from a Kalkar city?" exclaimed Ko-vo, in evident incredulity.
"That is impossible. It never has been accomplished."

"But we did accomplish it," replied Moh-goh, "thanks to my friend here,"
and then he narrated briefly to Ko-vo the details of our escape.

"It scarce seems possible," commented the Laythean, when Moh-goh had
completed his narrative, "and what may be the name of your friend, Moh-goh,
and from what country did you say he came?"

"He calls himself Ju-lan-fit," replied Moh-goh, for that was as near as he
could come to the pronunciation of my name. And so it was that as Ju-lan-fit
I was known to the Laytheans as long as I remained among them. They thought
that fifth, which they pronounced "fit," was a title similar to one of those
which always followed the name of its possessor in Laythe, as Sagroth the
Jemadar, or Emperor; Ko-vo the Kamadar, a title which corresponds closely to
that of the English Duke; and Moh-goh the Paladar, or Count. And so, to humor
them, I told them that it meant the same as their Javadar, or Prince. I was
thereafter called sometimes Ju-lan-fit, and sometimes Ju-lan Javadar, as the
spirit moved him who addressed me.

At Moh-goh's suggestion, Ko-vo the Kamadar detailed a number of his men to
accompany us to Moh-goh's dwelling, lest we have difficulty in passing
through the city in our Kalkar garb.

As we had stood talking with Ko-vo, my eyes had been taking in the
interior sights of this lunar city. The crater about which Laythe is built
appeared to be between three and four miles in width, the buildings facing it
and rising terrace upon terrace to a height of a mile at least, were much
more elaborate of architecture and far richer in carving than those of the
Kalkar City No. 337. The terraces were broad and well cultivated, and as we
ascended toward Moh-goh's dwelling I saw that much pains had been taken to
elaborately landscape many of them, there being pools and rivulets and
waterfalls in numerous places. As in the Kalkar city, there were Va-gas
fattening for food in little groups upon various terraces. They were sleek
and fat and appeared contented, and I learned later that they were perfectly
satisfied with their lot, having no more conception of the purpose for which
they were bred or the fate that awaited them than have the beef cattle of
Earth.

The U-gas of Laythe have induced this mental state in their Va-gas herds
by a process of careful selection covering a period of ages, possibly, during
which time they have conscientiously selected for breeding purposes the most
stupid and unimaginative members of their herds.

At Moh-goh's dwelling we were warmly greeted by the members of his family
—his father, mother and two sisters—all of whom, like the other
Laytheans I had seen, were of striking appearance. The men were straight and
handsome, the women physically perfect and of great beauty.

I could see in the affectionate greetings which they exchanged an
indication of a family life and ties similar to those which are most common
upon Earth, while their gracious and hospitable reception of me marked them
as people of highly refined sensibilities. First of all they must hear
Moh-goh's story, and then, after having congratulated us and praised us, they
set about preparing baths and fresh apparel for us, in which they were
assisted by a corps of servants, descendants, I was told, of the faithful
servitors who had remained loyal to the noble classes and accompanied them in
their exile.

We rested for a short time after our baths, and then Moh-goh announced
that he must go before Ko-tah, to whom it was necessary that he report, and
that he would take me with him. I was appareled now in raiment befitting my
supposed rank and carried the weapons of a Laythean gentleman—a short
lance, or javelin, a dagger and a sword, but with my relatively darker skin
and my blond hair, I could never hope to be aught than an object of remark in
any Laythean company. Owing to the color of my hair, some of them thought
that I was a Kalkar, but upon this score my complexion set them right.

Ko-tah's dwelling was, indeed, princely, stretching along a broad terrace
for fully a quarter of a mile, with its two stories and its numerous towers
and minarets. The entire face of the building was elaborately and beautifully
carved, the decorations in their entirety recording pictographically the
salient features of the lives of Ko-tah's ancestors.

Armed nobles stood on either side of the massive entrance way, and long
before we reached this lunar prince I realized that possibly he was more
difficult to approach than one of earthly origin, but at last we were ushered
into his presence, and Moh-goh, with the utmost deference, presented me to
Ko-tah the Javadar. Having assumed a princely title and princely raiment, I
chose to assume princely prerogatives as well, believing that my position
among the Laytheans would be better assured and all my interests furthered if
they thought me of royal blood, and so I acknowledged my introduction to
Ko-tah as though we were equals and that he was being presented to me upon
the same footing that I was being presented to him.

I found him, like all his fellows, a handsome man, but with a slightly
sinister expression which I did not like. Possibly I was prejudiced against
him from what Nah-ee-lah had told me, but be that as it may, I conceived a
dislike and distrust for him the moment that I laid eyes upon him, and I
think, too, that he must have sensed my attitude, for, though he was
outwardly gracious and courteous, I believe that Ko-tah the Javadar never
liked me.

It is true that he insisted upon allotting me quarters within his palace
and that he gave me service high among his followers, but I was at that time
a novelty among them, and Ko-tah was not alone among the royalty who would
have been glad to have entertained me and showered favors upon me, precisely
as do Earth Men when a titled stranger, or famous man from another land,
comes to their country.

Although I did not care for him, I was not loth to accept his hospitality,
since I felt that because of my friendship for Nah-ee-lah I owed all my
loyalty to Sagroth the Jemadar, and if by placing myself in the camp of the
enemy I might serve the father of Nah-ee-lah, I was justified in so
doing.

I found myself in a rather peculiar position in the palace of Ko-tah,
since I was supposed to know little or nothing of internal conditions in
Laythe, and yet had learned from both Nah-ee-lah and Moh-goh a great deal
concerning the intrigues and politics of this lunar city. For example, I was
not supposed to know of the existence of Nah-ee-lah. Not even did Moh-goh
know that I had heard of her; and so until her name was mentioned, I could
ask no questions concerning her, though I was anxious indeed to discover if
by any miracle of chance, she had returned in safety to Laythe, or if aught
had been learned concerning her fate.

Ko-tah held me in conversation for a considerable period of time, asking
many questions concerning Earth and my voyage from that planet to the Moon. I
knew that he was skeptical, and yet he was a man of such intelligence as to
realize that there must be something in the Universe beyond his understanding
or his knowledge. His eyes told him that I was not a native of Va-nah, and
his ears must have corroborated the testimony of his eyes, for try as I
would, I never was able to master the Va-nahan language so that I could pass
for a native.

At the close of our interview Ko-tah announced that Moh-goh would also
remain in quarters in the palace, suggesting that if it was agreeable to me,
my companion should share my apartments with me.

"Nothing would give me greater pleasure, Ko-tah the Javadar," I said,
"than to have my good friend, Moh-goh the Paladar, always with me."

"Excellent!" exclaimed Ko-tah. "You must both be fatigued. Go, therefore,
to your apartments and rest. Presently I will repair to the palace of the
Jemadar with my court, and you will be notified in sufficient time to prepare
yourselves to accompany me."

The audience was at an end, and we were led by nobles of Ko-tah's palace
to our apartments, which lay upon the second floor in pleasant rooms
overlooking the terraces down to the brink of the great, yawning crater
below.

Until I threw myself upon the soft mattress that served as a bed for me, I
had not realized how physically exhausted I had been. Scarcely had I
permitted myself to relax in the luxurious ease which precedes sleep ere I
was plunged into profound slumber, which must have endured for a considerable
time, since when I awoke I was completely refreshed. Moh-goh was already up
and in the bath, a marble affair fed by a continuous supply of icy water
which originated among the ice-clad peaks of the higher mountains behind
Laythe. The bather had no soap, but used rough fibre gloves with which he
rubbed the surface of his skin until it glowed. These baths rather took one's
breath away, but amply repaid for the shock by the sensation of exhilaration
and well being which resulted from them.

In addition to private baths in each dwelling, each terrace supported a
public bath, in which men, women and children disported themselves, recalling
to my mind the ancient Roman baths which earthly history records.

The baths of the Jemadar which I was later to see in the palace of Sagroth
were marvels of beauty and luxury. Here, when the Emperor entertains, his
guests amuse themselves by swimming and diving, which, from what I have been
able to judge, are the national sports of the Laytheans. The Kalkars care
less for the water, while the Va-gas only enter it through necessity.

I followed Moh-goh in the bath, in which my first sensation was that I was
freezing to death. While we were dressing a messenger from Ko-tah summoned us
to his presence, with instructions that we were to be prepared to accompany
him to the palace of Sagroth the Jemadar.

THE palace of the Emperor stands, a magnificent pile, upon
the loftiest terrace of Laythe, extending completely around the enormous
crater. There are but three avenues leading to it from the terraces
below—three magnificent stairways, each of which may be closed by
enormous gates of stone, apparently wrought from huge slabs and intricately
chiselled into marvelous designs, so that at a distance they present the
appearance of magnificent lacework. Each gate is guarded by a company of
fifty warriors, their tunics bearing the imperial design in a large circle
over the left breast.

The ceremony of our entrance to the imperial terrace was most gorgeous and
impressive. Huge drums and trumpets blared forth a challenge as we reached
the foot of the stairway which we were to ascend to the palace. High
dignitaries in gorgeous trappings came down the steps to meet us, as if to
formally examine the credentials of Ko-tah and give official sanction to his
entrance. We were then conducted through the gateway across a broad terrace
beautifully landscaped and ornamented by statuary that was most evidently the
work of finished artists. These works of art comprised both life size and
heroic figures of individuals and groups, and represented for the most part
historic or legendary figures and events of the remote past, though there
were also likenesses of all the rulers of Laythe, up to and including Sagroth
the present Jemadar.

The ceremony of our entrance to the imperial terrace was
most impressive.

Upon entering the palace we were led to a banquet hall, where we were
served with food, evidently purely in accordance with ancient court
ceremonial, since there was little to eat and the guests barely tasted of
that which was presented to them. This ceremony consumed but a few minutes of
Earth time, following which we were conducted through spacious hallways to
the throne room of the Jemadar, an apartment of great beauty and considerable
size. Its decorations and lines were simple, almost to severity, yet
suggesting regal dignity and magnificence. Upon a dais at the far end of the
room were three thrones, that in the center being occupied by a man whom I
knew at once to be Sagroth, while upon either side sat a woman.

Ko-tah advanced and made his obeisance before his ruler, and after the
exchange of a few words between them Ko-tah returned and conducted me to the
foot of Sagroth's throne.

I had been instructed that it was in accordance with court etiquette that
I keep my eyes upon the ground until I had been presented and Sagroth had
spoken to me, and that then I should be introduced to the Jemadav, or
Empress, when I might raise my eyes to her, also, and afterward to the
occupant of the third throne when I should be formally presented to her.

Sagroth spoke most graciously to me, and as I raised my eyes I saw before
me a man of great size and evident strength of character. He was by far the
most regal appearing individual my eyes had ever rested upon, while his low,
well modulated, yet powerful voice accentuated the majesty of his mien. It
was he who presented me to his Jemadav, whom I discovered to be a creature
fully as regal in appearance as her imperial mate, and although doubtless
well past middle age, still possessing remarkable beauty, in which was to be
plainly noted Nah-ee-lah's resemblance to her mother.

Again I lowered my eyes as Sagroth presented me to the occupant of the
third throne.

"Ju-lan the Javadar," he repeated the formal words of the presentation,
"raise your eyes to the daughter of Laythe, Nah-ee-lah the Nonovar."

As my eyes, filled doubtless with surprise and incredulity, shot to the
face of Nah-ee-lah, I was almost upon the verge of an exclamation of the joy
and happiness which I felt in seeing her again and in knowing that she was
safely returned to her parents and her city once more. But as my eyes met
hers the exuberance of my spirit was as effectually and quickly checked by
her cold glance and haughty mien as if I had received a blow in the face.

There was no hint of recognition in Nah-ee-lah's expression. She nodded
coldly in acknowledgment of the presentation and then let her eyes pass above
my head toward the opposite end of the throne room. My pride was hurt, and I
was angry, but I would not let her see how badly I was hurt. I have always
prided myself upon my control, and so I know that then I hid my emotion and
turned once more to Sagroth, as though I had received from his daughter the
Nonovar precisely the favor that I had a right to expect. If the Jemadar had
noticed aught peculiar in either Nah-ee-lah's manner or mine, he gave no hint
of it. He spoke again graciously to me and then dismissed me, with the remark
that we should meet again later.

Having withdrawn from the throne room, Ko-tah informed me that following
the audience I should have an opportunity to meet Sagroth less formally,
since he had commanded that I remain in the palace as his guest during the
meal which followed.

"It is a mark of distinction," said Ko-tah, "but remember, Ju-lan the
Javadar, that you have accepted the friendship of Ko-tah and are his
ally."

"Do not embroil me in the political intrigues of Laythe," I replied. "I am
a stranger, with no interest in the internal affairs of your country, for the
reason that I have no knowledge of them."

"One is either a friend or an enemy," replied Ko-tah.

"I am not sufficiently well acquainted to be accounted either," I told
him; "nor shall I choose my friends in Laythe until I am better acquainted,
nor shall another choose them for me."

"You are a stranger here," said Ko-tah. "I speak in your best interests,
only. If you would succeed here; aye, if you would live, even, you must
choose quickly and you must choose correctly. I, Ko-tah the Javadar, have
spoken."

"I choose my own friends," I replied, "according to the dictates of my
honor and my heart. I, Ju-lan the Javadar, have spoken."

He bowed low in acquiescence, and when he again raised his eyes to mine I
was almost positive from the expression in them that his consideration of me
was marked more by respect than resentment.

"We shall see," was all that he said, and withdrew, leaving me to the
kindly attention of some of the gentlemen of Sagroth's court who had been
standing at a respectful distance out of earshot of Ko-tah and myself. These
men chatted pleasantly with me for some time until I was bidden to join
Sagroth in another part of the palace.

I found myself now with a man who had evidently thrown off the restraint
of a formal audience, though without in the slightest degree relinquishing
either his dignity or his majesty. He spoke more freely and his manner was
more democratic. He asked me to be seated, nor would he himself sit until I
had, a point of Laythean court etiquette which made a vast impression on me,
since it indicated that the first gentleman of the city must also be the
first in courtesy. He put question after question to me concerning my own
world and the means by which I had been transported to Va-nah.

"There are fragmentary, extremely fragmentary, legends handed down from
extreme antiquity which suggest that our remote ancestors had some knowledge
concerning the other worlds of which you speak," he said, "but these have
been considered always the veriest of myths. Can it be possible that, after
all, they are based upon truth?"

"The remarkable part of them," I suggested, "is that they exist at all,
since it is difficult to understand how any knowledge of the outer Universe
could ever reach to the buried depths of Va-nah."

"No, not by any means," he said, "if what you tell me is the truth, for
our legends bear out the theory that Va-nah is located in the center of an
enormous globe and that our earliest progenitors lived upon the outer surface
of this globe, being forced at last by some condition which the legends do
not even suggest, to find their way into this inner world."

I shook my head. It did not seem possible.

"And, yet," he said, noting the doubt that my expression evidently
betrayed, "you yourself claim to have reached Va-nah from a great world far
removed from our globe which you call the Moon. If you reached us from
another world, is it then so difficult to believe that those who preceded us
reached Va-nah from the outer crust of this Moon? It is almost an historic
certainty," he continued, "that our ancestors possessed great ships which
navigated the air. As you entered Va-nah by means of a similar conveyance,
may not they have done likewise?"

I had to admit that it was within the range of possibilities, and in so
doing, to avow that the Moon Men of antiquity had been millions of years in
advance of their brethren of the Earth.

But, after all, was it such a difficult conclusion to reach when one
considers the fact that the Moon being smaller, must have cooled more rapidly
than Earth, and therefore, provided that it had an atmosphere, have been
habitable to man ages before man could have lived upon our own planet?

We talked pleasantly upon many subjects for some time, and then, at last,
Sagroth arose.

"We will join the others at the tables now," he said, and as he led the
way from the apartment in which we had been conversing alone, stone doors
opened before us as by magic, indicating that the Jemadar of Laythe was not
only well served, but well protected, or possibly well spied upon.

After we emerged from the private audience, guards accompanied us, some
preceding the Jemadar and some following, and thus we moved in semi-state
through several corridors and apartments until we came out upon a balcony
upon the second floor of the palace overlooking the terraces and the
crater.

Here, along the rail of the balcony, were numerous small tables, each
seating two, all but two of the tables being occupied by royal and noble
retainers and their women. As the Jemadar entered, these all arose, facing
him respectfully, and simultaneously through another entrance, came the
Jemadav and Nah-ee-lah.

They stood just within the room, waiting until Sagroth and I crossed to
them. While we were doing so, Sagroth very courteously explained the
procedure I was to follow.

"You will place yourself upon the Nonovar's left," he concluded, "and
conduct her to her table precisely as I conduct the Jemadav."

Nah-ee-lah's head was high as I approached her and she vouchsafed me only
the merest inclination of it in response to my respectful salutation. In
silence we followed Sagroth and his Empress to the tables reserved for us.
The balance of the company remained standing until, at a signal from Sagroth,
we all took our seats. It was necessary for me to watch the others closely,
as I knew nothing concerning the social customs of Laythe, but when I saw
that conversation had become general I glanced at Nah-ee-lah.

"The Princess of Laythe so soon forgets her friends?" I asked.

"The Princess of Laythe never forgets her friends," she replied.

"I know nothing of your customs here," I said, "but in my world even
royalty may greet their friends with cordiality and seeming pleasure."

"And here, too," she retorted.

I saw that something was amiss, that she seemed to be angry with me, but
the cause I could not imagine. Perhaps she thought I had deserted her at the
entrance to the tunnel leading to the Kalkar city. But no, she must have
guessed the truth. What then, could be the cause of her cold aloofness, who,
the last that I had seen of her, had been warm with friendship?

"I wonder," I said, trying a new tack, "if you were as surprised to see me
alive as I you. I had given you up for lost, Nah-ee-lah, and I had grieved
more than I can tell you. When I saw you in the audience chamber I could
scarce repress myself, but when I saw that you did not wish to recognize me,
I could only respect your desires."

She made no reply, but turned and looked out the window across the
terraces and the crater to the opposite side of Laythe. She was ice, who had
been almost fire. No longer was she little Nah-ee-lah, the companion of my
hardships and dangers. No longer was she friend and confidante, but a cold
and haughty Princess, who evidently looked upon me with disfavor. Her
attitude outraged all the sacred tenets of friendship, and I was angered.

"Princess," I said, "if it is customary for Laytheans thus to cast aside
the sacred bonds of friendship, I should do as well to be among the Va-gas or
the Kalkars."

"The way to either is open," she replied haughtily. "You are not a
prisoner in Laythe."

Thereafter conversation languished and expired, as far at least, as
Nah-ee-lah and I were concerned, and I was more than relieved when the
unpleasant function was concluded.

Two young nobles took me in charge, following the meal; as it seemed that
I was to remain as a guest in the palace for a while, and as I expressed a
desire to see as much of the imperial residence as I might be permitted to,
they graciously conducted me upon a tour of inspection. We went out upon the
outer terraces which overlooked the valleys and the mountains, and never in
my life have I looked upon a landscape more majestic or inspiring. The crater
of Laythe, situated upon a broad plateau entirely surrounded by lofty
mountains, titanic peaks that would dwarf our Alps into insignificance and
reduce the Himalayas to foothills, towered far into the distance upon the
upper side, the ice-clad summits of those more distant seemed to veritably
topple above us, while a thousand feet below us the pinks and lavenders of
the weird lunar vegetation lay like a soft carpet upon the gently undulating
surface of the plateau.

But my guides seemed less interested in the scenery than in me. They plied
me with questions continually, until I was more anxious to be rid of them
than aught else that I could think of. They asked me a little concerning my
own world and what I thought of Laythe, and if I found the Princess
Nah-ee-lah charming, and my opinion of the Emperor Sagroth. My answers must
have been satisfactory, for presently they came very close to me and one of
them whispered:

"You need not fear to speak in our presence. We, too, are friends and
followers of Ko-tah."

"The Devil!" I thought. "They are bound to embroil me in their petty
intrigues. What do I care for Sagroth or Ko-tah or"—and then my
thoughts reverted to Nah-ee-lah. She had treated me cruelly. Her cold
aloofness and her almost studied contempt had wounded me, yet I could not say
to myself that Nah-ee-lah was nothing to me. She had been my friend and I had
been hers, and I should remain her friend to my dying day. Perhaps, then, if
these people were bound to draw me into their political disputes, I might
turn their confidences into profit for Nah-ee-lah. I had never told them that
I was a creature of Ko-tah's, for I was not, nor had I ever told Ko-tah that
I was an enemy to Sagroth; in fact, I had led him to believe the very
opposite. And so I gave these two an evasive answer which might have meant
anything, and they chose to interpret it as meaning that I was one of them.
Well, what could I do? It was not my fault if they insisted upon deceiving
themselves, and Nah-ee-lah might yet need the friendship that she had
scorned.

"Has Sagroth no loyal followers, then," I asked, "that you are all so sure
of the success of the coup d'état that Ko-tah plans?"

"Ah, you know about it then!" cried one of them. "You are in the
confidence of the Javadar."

I let them think that I was. It could do no harm, at least.

"Did he tell you when it was to happen?" asked the other.

"Perhaps, already I have said too much," I replied. "The confidences of
Ko-tah are not to be lightly spread about."

"You are right," said the last speaker. "It is well to be discreet, but
let us assure you, Ju-lan the Javadar, that we are equally in the confidence
and favor of Ko-tah with any of those who serve him; otherwise, he would not
have entrusted us with a portion of the work which must be done within the
very palace of the Jemadar."

"Have you many accomplices here?" I asked.

"Many," he replied, "outside of the Jemadar's guards. They remain loyal to
Sagroth. It is one of the traditions of the organization, and they will die
for him, to a man and," he added with a shrug, "they shall die, never fear.
When the time arrives and the signal is given, each member of the guard will
be set upon by two of Ko-tah's faithful followers."

I do not know how long I remained in the City of Laythe. Time passed
rapidly, and I was very happy after I returned to the dwelling of Moh-goh. I
swam and dived with them and their friends in the baths upon our terrace, and
also in those of Ko-tah. I learned to use the flying wings that I had first
seen upon Nah-ee-lah the day that she fell exhausted into the clutches of the
Va-gas, and many were the lofty and delightful excursions we took into the
higher mountains of the Moon, when Moh-goh or his friends organized pleasure
parties for the purpose. Constantly surrounded by people of culture and
refinement, by brave men and beautiful women, my time was so filled with
pleasurable activities that I made no effort to gauge it. I felt that I was
to spend the balance of my life here, and I might as well get from it all the
pleasure that Laythe could afford.

I did not see Nah-ee-lah during all this time, and though I still heard a
great deal concerning the conspiracy against Sagroth, I presently came to
attach but little importance to what I did hear, after I learned that the
conspiracy had been on foot for over thirteen kelds, or approximately about
ten earthly years, and seemed, according to my informers, no nearer
consummation than it ever had been in the past.

Time does not trouble these people much, and I was told that it might be
twenty kelds before Ko-tah took action, though on the other hand, he might
strike within the next ola.

There was an occurrence during this period which aroused my curiosity, but
concerning which Moh-goh was extremely reticent. Upon one of the occasions
that I was a visitor in Ko-tah's palace, I was passing through a little used
corridor in going from one chamber to another, when just ahead of me a door
opened and a man stepped out in front of me. When he heard my footsteps
behind him he turned and looked at me, and then stepped quickly back into the
apartment he had just left and closed the door hurriedly behind him. There
would have been nothing particularly remarkable in that, had it not been for
the fact that the man was not a Laythean, but unquestionably a Kalkar.

Believing that I had discovered an enemy in the very heart of Laythe, I
leaped forward, and throwing open the door, followed into the apartment into
which the man had disappeared. To my astonishment, I found myself confronted
by six men, three of whom were Kalkars, while the other three were Laytheans,
and among the latter I instantly recognized Ko-tah, himself. He flushed
angrily as he saw me, but before he could speak I bowed and explained my
action.

"I crave your pardon, Javadar," I said. "I thought that I saw an enemy of
Laythe in the heart of your palace, and that by apprehending him I should
serve you best;" and I started to withdraw from the chamber.

"Wait," he said. "You did right, but lest you misunderstand their presence
here, I may tell you that these three are prisoners."

"I realized that at once when I saw you, Javadar," I replied, though I
knew perfectly that he had lied to me; and then I backed from the room,
closing the door after me.

"If you mean that it is none of my business, Moh-goh," I replied, "I
perfectly agree with you, and you may rest assured that I shall not meddle in
affairs that do not concern me."

However, I did considerable thinking upon the matter, and possibly I went
out of my way a little more than one should who is attending strictly to his
own business, that I might keep a little in touch with the course of the
conspiracy, for no matter what I had said to Moh-goh, no matter how I
attempted to convince myself that it did not interest me, the truth remained
that anything that affected in any way the fate of Nah-ee-lah transcended in
interest any event which might transpire within Va-nah, in so far as I was
concerned.

The unobtrusive espionage which I practiced bore fruit, to the extent that
it permitted me to know that on at least three other occasions delegations of
Kalkars visited Ko-tah.

The fact that this ancient palace of the Prince of Laythe was a
never-ending source of interest to me aided me in my self-imposed task of
spying upon the conspirators, for the retainers of Ko-tah were quite
accustomed to see me in out-of-the-way corridors and passages, oftentimes far
from the inhabited portions of the building.

Upon the occasion of one of these tours I had descended to a lower
terrace, along an ancient stone stairway which wound spirally downward and
had discovered a dimly lighted room in which were stored a number of ancient
works of art. I was quietly examining these, when I heard voices in an
adjoining chamber.

"Upon no other conditions will he assist you, Javadar," said the speaker,
whose voice I first heard.

"His demands are outrageous," replied a second speaker. "I refuse to
consider them. Laythe is impregnable. He can never take it." The voice was
that of Ko-tah.

"You do not know him, Laythean," replied the other. "He has given us
engines of destruction with which we can destroy any city in Va-nah. He will
give you Laythe. Is that not enough?"

"But he will be Jemadar of Jemadars and rule us all!" exclaimed Ko-tah.
"The Jemadar of Laythe can be subservient to none."

"If you do not accede he will take Laythe in spite of you and reduce you
to the status of a slave."

"You will regret it, Laythean," replied the Kalkar, "for you do not know
what this creature has brought from another world in knowledge of war and the
science of destruction of human life."

"I do not fear him," snapped Ko-tah, "my swords are many, my spearmen are
well trained. Be gone, and do not return until your master is ready to sue
with Ko-tah for an alliance."

I heard receding footsteps then, and following that, a silence which I
thought indicated that all had left the chamber, but presently I heard
Ko-tah's voice again.

"What think you of it?" he asked. And then I heard the voice of a third
man, evidently a Laythean, replying:

"I think that if there is any truth in the fellow's assertions, we may not
too quickly bring about the fall of Sagroth and place you upon the throne of
Laythe, for only thus may we stand united against a common outside
enemy."

"You are right," replied the Javadar. "Gather our forces. We shall strike
within the ola."

I wanted to hear more, but they passed out of the chamber then, and their
voices became only a subdued murmur which quickly trailed off into silence.
What should I do? Within six hours Ko-tah would strike at the power of
Sagroth, and I well knew what that would mean to Nah-ee-lah; either marriage
with the new Jemadar, or death, and I guessed that the proud Princess would
choose the latter in preference to Ko-tah.

AS rapidly as I could I made my way from the palace of
Ko-tah, and upward, terrace by terrace, toward the palace of the Jemadar. I
had never presented myself at Sagroth's palace since Nah-ee-lah had so
grievously offended me. I did not even know the customary procedure to follow
to gain an audience with the Emperor, but nevertheless I came boldly to the
carven gates and demanded to speak with the officer in command of the guards.
When he came I told him that I desired to speak either with Sagroth or the
Princess Nah-ee-lah at once, upon a matter of the most urgent importance.

"Wait," he said, "and I will take your message to the Jemadar."

He was gone for what seemed to me a very long time, but at last he
returned, saying that Sagroth would see me at once, and I was conducted
through the gates and into the palace toward the small audience chamber in
which Sagroth had once received me so graciously. As I was ushered into the
room I found myself facing both Sagroth and Nah-ee-lah. The attitude of the
Jemadar seemed apparently judicial, but that of the Princess was openly
hostile.

I found myself facing both Sagroth and Nah-ee-lah.

"What are you doing here, traitor?" she demanded, without waiting for
Sagroth to speak, and at the same instant a door upon the opposite side of
the room burst open and three warriors leaped into the apartment with bared
swords. They wore the livery of Ko-tah, and I knew instantly the purpose for
which they had come. Drawing my own sword, I leaped forward.

"I have come to defend the life of the Jemadar and his Princess," I cried,
as I sprang between them and the advancing three.

"They are the assassins of Ko-tah come to slay you!" I cried. "Defend
yourself, Sagroth of Laythe!" And with that, I tried to engage the three
until help arrived.

I am no novice with the sword. The art of fencing has been one of my chief
diversions since my cadet days in the Air School, and I did not fear the
Laytheans, though I knew that, even were they but mediocre swordsmen, I could
not for long withstand the assaults of three at once. But upon this point I
need not have concerned myself, for no sooner had I spoken than Sagroth's
sword leaped from its scabbard, and placing himself at my side, he fought
nobly and well in defense of his life and his honor.

One of our antagonists merely tried to engage me while the other two
assassinated the Jemadar. And so, seeing that he was playing me, and that I
could do with him about as I pleased if I did not push him too hard, I drove
him back a few steps until I was close at the side of one of those who
engaged Sagroth. Then before any could know my intention, I wheeled and
lunged my sword through the heart of one of those who opposed the father of
Nah-ee-lah. So quickly had I disengaged my former antagonist, so swift my
lunge, that I had recovered and was ready to meet the renewed assaults of the
first who had engaged me almost before he realized what had happened.

It was man against man, now, and the odds were even. I had no opportunity
to watch Sagroth, but from the ring of steel on steel, I knew that the two
were bitterly engaged. My own man kept me well occupied. He was a magnificent
swordsman, but he was only fighting for his life; I was fighting for
more—for my life and for my honor, too, since after the word "traitor"
that Nah-ee-lah had hurled at me, I had felt that I must redeem myself in her
eyes. I did not give any thought at all to the question as to just why I
should care what Nah-ee-lah the Moon Maid thought of me, but something within
me reacted mightily to the contempt that she had put into that single
word.

I could catch an occasional glimpse of her standing there behind the
massive desk at which her father had sat upon the first occasion of my coming
to this chamber. She stood there very tense, her wide eyes fixed upon me in
evident incredulity.

I had almost worn my man down and we were fighting now so that I was
facing Nah-ee-lah, with my back toward the doorway through which the three
assassins had entered. Sagroth must have been more than holding his own, too,
for I could see his opponent slowly falling back before the older man's
assaults. And then there broke above the clang of steel a girl's
voice—Nah-ee-lah's—raised in accents of fear.

"Julian, beware! Behind you! Behind you!"

At the instant of her warning the eyes of my antagonist left mine, which,
for his own good, they never should have done, and passed in a quick glance
over my shoulder at something or someone behind me. His lack of concentration
cost him his life. I saw my opening the instant that it was made, and with a
quick lunge I passed my blade through his heart. Whipping it out again, I
wheeled to face a dozen men springing into the chamber. They paid no
attention to me, but leaped toward Sagroth, and before I could prevent it he
went down with half a dozen blades through his body.

Upon the opposite side of the desk from us was another door-way directly
behind Nah-ee-lah, and in the instant that she saw Sagroth fall, she called
to me in a low voice: "Come, Julian, quick! Or we, too, are lost."

Realizing that the Jemadar was dead and that it would be folly to remain
and attempt to fight this whole roomful of warriors, I leaped the desk and
followed Nah-ee-lah through the doorway beyond. There was a cry, then, from
someone within the room, to stop us, but Nah-ee-lah wheeled and slammed the
door in their faces as they rushed forward, fastened it upon our side and
then turned to me.

"Julian," she said, "how can you ever forgive me? You who have risked your
life for the Jemadar, my father, in spite of the contemptible treatment that
in my ignorance I have accorded you?"

"I could have explained," I said, "but you would not let me. Appearances
were against me, and so I cannot blame you for thinking as you did."

"It was wicked of me not to listen to you, Julian, but I thought that
Ko-tah had won you over, as he has won over even some of the staunchest
friends of Sagroth."

"You might have known, Nah-ee-lah, that, even could I have been disloyal
to your father, I never could have been disloyal to his daughter."

"I did not know," she said. "How could I?"

There suddenly came over me a great desire to take her in my arms and
cover those lovely lips with kisses. I could not tell why this ridiculous
obsession had seized upon me, nor why, of a sudden, I became afraid of little
Nah-ee-lah, the Moon Maid. I must have looked very foolish indeed, standing
there looking at her, and suddenly I realized how fatuous I must appear, and
so I shook myself and laughed.

"Come, Nah-ee-lah," I said, "we must not remain here. Where can I take
you, that you will be safe?"

"Upon the outer terrace there may be some of the loyal guards," she
replied, "but if Ko-tah has already taken the palace, flight will be
useless."

"From what I know of the conspiracy, it will be useless," I replied, "for
the service of Sagroth and his palace is rotten with the spies and retainers
of the Javadar."

"I feared as much," she said. "The very men who came to assassinate
Sagroth wore the imperial livery less than an ola since."

"Are there none, then, loyal to you?" I asked her.

"The Jemadar's guard is always loyal," she said, "but they number scarce a
thousand men."

"How may we summon them?" I asked.

"Let us go to the outer terraces and if there are any of them there we can
congregate the balance, or as many of them as Ko-tah has left alive."

"Come, then," I said, "let us hasten;" and together, hand in hand, we ran
along the corridors of the Jemadar's palace to the outer terraces of the
highest tier of Laythe. There we found a hundred men, and when we had told
them of what had happened within the palace they drew their swords and,
surrounding Nah-ee-lah, they shouted:

"To the death for Nah-ee-lah, Jemadav of Laythe!"

They wanted to remain there and protect her, but I told them that there
would be nothing gained by that, that sooner or later they would be
overwhelmed by far greater numbers, and the cause of Nah-ee-lah lost.

"Send a dozen men," I said to their commander, "to rally all of the loyal
guards that remain alive. Tell them to come to the throne room, ready to lay
down their lives for the new Jemadav, and then let the dozen continue on out
into the city, rallying the people to the protection of Nah-ee-lah. As for
us, we will accompany her immediately to the throne room, and there, place
her upon the throne and proclaim her ruler of Laythe. A hundred men may hold
the throne room for a long time, if we reach it before Ko-tah reaches it with
his forces."

"Send a dozen men," I said to their commander, "to rally
all of the loyal guards."

The officer looked at Nah-ee-lah questioningly.

"Your command, Jemadav?" he inquired.

"We will follow the plan of Ju-lan the Javadar," she replied.

Immediately a dozen warriors were dispatched to rally the Imperial Guard
and arouse the loyal citizens of the city to the protection of their new
Jemadav, while the balance of us conducted Nah-ee-lah by a short course
toward the throne room.

As we entered the great chamber at one end, Ko-tah and a handful of
warriors came in at the other, but we had the advantage, in that we entered
through a doorway directly behind the throne and upon the dais.

"Throw your men upon the main entrance," I called to the officer of the
guard, "and hold it until reinforcements come," and then, as the hundred
raced the length of the throne room toward the surprised and enraged Ko-tah,
I led Nah-ee-lah to the central throne and seated her upon it. Then stepping
forward, I raised my hand for silence.

"The Jemadar Sagroth is dead!" I cried. "Behold Nah-ee-lah, the Jemadav of
Laythe!"

"Stop!" cried Ko-tah, "she may share the throne with me, but she may not
possess it alone."

"Take that traitor!" I called to the loyal guard, and they rushed forward,
evidently glad to do my bidding. But Ko-tah did not wait to be taken. He was
accompanied by only a handful of men, and when he saw that the guard really
intended to seize him and realized that he would be given short shrift at the
hands of Nah-ee-lah and myself, he turned and fled. But I knew he would come
back, and come back he did, though not until after the majority of the
Jemadav's guard had gathered within the throne room.

He came with a great concourse of warriors, and the fighting was furious,
but he might have brought a million men against our thousand and not
immediately have overcome us, since only a limited number could fight at one
time in the entrance way to the throne room. Already the corpses lay stacked
as high as a man's head, yet no single member of Ko-tah's forces had crossed
the threshold.

How long the fight was waged I do not know, but it must have been for a
considerable time, since I know that our men fought in relays and rested many
times, and that food was brought from other parts of the palace to the
doorway behind the throne, and there were times when Ko-tah's forces withdrew
and rested and recuperated, but always they came back in greater number, and
eventually I realized we must be worn down by the persistence of their
repeated attacks.

And then there arose slowly a deep-toned sound, at first we could not
interpret. It rose and fell in increasing volume, until finally we knew that
it was the sound of human voices, the voices of a great mob—of a mighty
concourse of people and that it was sweeping toward us slowly and
resistlessly.

Closer and closer it approached the palace as it rose, terrace upon
terrace, toward the lofty pinnacle of Laythe. The fighting at the entrance to
the throne room had almost ceased. Both sides were worn down almost to utter
exhaustion, and now we but stood upon our arms upon either side of the wall
of corpses that lay between us, our attention centered upon the sound of the
growling multitude that was sweeping slowly upward toward us.

"They come," cried one of Nah-ee-lah's nobles, "to acclaim the new Jemadav
and to tear the minions of Ko-tah the traitor to pieces!"

He spoke in a loud voice that was easily audible to Ko-tah and his
retainers in the corridor without.

"They come to drag the spawn of Sagroth from the throne!" cried one of
Ko-tah's followers. And then from the throne came the sweet, clear voice of
Nah-ee-lah:

"Let the people's will be done," she said, and thus we stood, awaiting the
verdict of the populace. Nor had we long to wait, for presently we realized
that they had reached the palace terrace and entered the building itself. We
could hear the shouting horde moving through the corridors and chambers, and
finally the muffled bellowing resolved itself into articulate words:

"Sagroth is no more! Rule, Ko-tah, Jemadar of Laythe!"

I turned in consternation toward Nah-ee-lah. "What does it mean?" I cried.
"Have the people turned against you?"

"Ko-tah's minions have done their work well during these many kelds," said
the commander of the Jemadav's guard, who stood upon the upper steps of the
dais, just below the throne. "They have spread lies and sedition among the
people which not even Sagroth's just and kindly reign could overcome."

"Let the will of the people be done," repeated Nah-ee-lah.

"It is the will of fools betrayed by a scoundrel," cried the commander of
the guard. "While there beats a single heart beneath the tunic of a guardsman
of the Jemadav, we shall fight for Nah-ee-lah, Empress of Laythe."

Ko-tah's forces, now augmented by the rabble, were pushing their way over
the corpses and into the throne room, so that we were forced to join the
defenders, that we might hold them off while life remained to any of us. When
the commander of the guard saw me fighting at his side he asked me to return
to Nah-ee-lah.

"We must not leave the Jemadav alone," he said. "Return and remain at her
side, Ju-lan the Javadar, and when the last of us has fallen, drive your
dagger into her heart."

I shuddered and turned back toward Nah-ee-lah, The very thought of
plunging my dagger into that tender bosom fairly nauseated me. "There must be
some other way, and yet, what other means of escape could there be for
Nah-ee-lah, who preferred death to the dishonor of surrender to Ko-tah, the
murderer of her father? As I reached Nah-ee-lah's side, and turned again to
face the entrance to the throne room, I saw that the warriors of Ko-tah were
being pushed into the chamber by the mob behind them and that our defenders
were being overwhelmed by the great number of their antagonists. Ko-tah, with
a half dozen warriors, had been carried forward, practically without
volition, by the press of numbers in their rear, and even now, with none to
intercept him, was running rapidly up the broad center aisle toward the
throne. Some of those in the entrance way saw him, and as he reached the foot
of the steps leading to the dais, a snarling cry arose:

"Ko-tah the Jemadar!"

With bared sword, the fellow leaped toward me where I stood alone between
Nah-ee-lah and her enemies.

"Surrender, Julian!" she cried. "It is futile to oppose them. You are not
of Laythe. Neither duty nor honor impose upon you the necessity of offering
your life for one of us. Spare him, Ko-tah!" she cried to the advancing
Javadar, "and I will bow to the will of the people and relinquish the throne
to you."

"Ko-tah the traitor shall never sit upon the throne of Nah-ee-lah!" I
exclaimed, and leaping forward, I engaged the Prince of Laythe.

His warriors were close behind him, and it behooved me to work fast, and
so I fought as I had never guessed that it lay within me to fight, and at the
instant that the rabble broke through the remaining defenders and poured into
the throne room of the Jemadars of Laythe, I slipped my point into the heart
of Ko-tah. With a single piercing shriek, he threw his hands above his head
and toppled backward down the steps to lie dead at the foot of the throne he
had betrayed.

For an instant the silence of death reigned in the great chamber. Friend
and foe stood alike in the momentary paralysis of shocked surprise.

That tense, breathless silence had endured for but a moment, when it was
shattered by a terrific detonation. We felt the palace tremble and rock. The
assembled mob looked wildly about, their eyes filled with fear and
questioning. But before they could voice a question, another thunderous
report burst upon our startled ears, and then from the city below the palace
there arose the shrieks and screams of terrified people. Again the palace
trembled, and a great crack opened in one of the walls of the throne room.
The people saw it, and in an instant their anger against the dynasty of
Sagroth was swallowed in the mortal terror which they felt for their own
safety. With shrieks and screams they turned and bolted for the doorway. The
weaker were knocked down and trampled upon. They fought with fists and swords
and daggers, in their mad efforts to escape the crumbling building. They tore
the clothing from one another, as each sought to drag back his fellow, that
he might gain further in the race for the outer world.

And as the rabble fought, Nah-ee-lah and I stood before the throne of
Laythe, watching them, while below us the few remaining members of the
Jemadar's guard stood viewing in silent contempt the terror of the
people.

Explosion after explosion followed one another in rapid succession. The
people had fled. The palace was empty, except for that handful of us faithful
ones who remained within the throne room.

"Let us go," I said to Nah-ee-lah, "and discover the origin of these
sounds, and the extent of the damage that is being done."

"Come," she said, "here is a short corridor to the inner terrace, where we
may look down upon the entire city of Laythe." And then, turning to the
commander of the guard she said: "Proceed, please, to the palace gates, and
secure them against the return of our enemies, if they have by this time all
fled from the palace grounds."

The officer bowed, and followed by the few heroic survivors of the
Jemadar's guard, he left by another corridor for the palace gates, while I
followed Nah-ee-lah up a stairway that led to the roof of the palace.

Coming out upon the upper terrace, we made our way quickly to the edge
overlooking the city and the crater. Below us a shrieking multitude ran
hither and thither from terrace to terrace, while, now here and now there,
terrific explosions occurred that shattered age-old structures and carried
debris high into the air. Many terraces showed great gaps and tumbled ruins
where other explosions had occurred and smoke and flames were rising from a
dozen portions of the city.

But an instant it took me to realize that the explosions were caused by
something that was being dropped into the city from above, and as I looked up
I saw a missile describing an arc above the palace, past which it hurtled to
a terrace far below, and at once I realized that the missile had originated
outside the city. Turning quickly, I ran across the terrace to the outer side
which overlooked the plateau upon which the city stood. I could not repress
an exclamation of astonishment at the sight that greeted my eyes, for the
surface of the plateau was alive with warriors. Nah-ee-lah had followed me
and was standing at my elbow. "The Kalkars," she said. "They have come again
to reduce Laythe. It has been long since they attempted it, many generations
ago, but what is it, Julian, that causes the great noise and the destruction
and the fires within Laythe?"

"It is this which fills me with surprise," I said, "and not the presence
of the Kalkar warriors. Look! Nah-ee-lah," and I pointed to a knoll lying at
the verge of the plateau, where, unless my eyes deceived me badly, there was
mounted a mortar which was hurling shells into the city of Laythe. "And
there, and there," I continued, pointing to other similar engines of
destruction mounted at intervals. "The city is surrounded with them,
Nah-ee-lah. Have your people any knowledge of such engines of warfare or of
high explosives?" I demanded.

"Only in our legends are such things mentioned," she replied. "It has been
ages since the inhabitants of Va-nah lost the art of manufacturing such
things."

As we stood there talking, one of the Jemadar's guards emerged from the
palace and approached us.

"Nah-ee-lah, Jemadav," he cried, "there is one here who craves audience
with you and who says that if you listen to him you may save your city from
destruction."

"Fetch him," replied Nah-ee-lah. "We will receive him here."

We had but a moment to wait when the guardsman returned with one of
Ko-tah's captains.

"Nah-ee-lah, Jemadav," he cried, when she had given him permission to
speak, "I come to you with a message from one who is Jemadar of Jemadars,
ruler of all Va-nah. If you would save your city and your people, listen
well."

The girl's eyes narrowed. "You are speaking to your Jemadav, fellow," she
said. "Be careful, not only of your words, but of your tone,"

"I come but to save you," replied the man sullenly. "The Kalkars have
discovered a great leader, and they have joined together from many cities to
overthrow Laythe. My master does not wish to destroy this ancient city, and
there is but one simple condition upon which he will spare it."

"Name your condition," said Nah-ee-lah.

"If you will wed him, he will make Laythe the capital of Va-nah, and you
shall rule with him as Jemadav of Jemadavs."

Nah-ee-lah's lips curled in scorn. "And who is the presumptuous Kalkar
that dares aspire to the hand of Nah-ee-lah?" she demanded.

"He is no Kalkar, Jemadav," replied the messenger. "He is one from another
world, who says that he knows you well and that he has loved you long."

"His name," snapped Nah-ee-lah impatiently.

"He is called Or-tis, Jemadar of Jemadars."

Nah-ee-lah turned toward me with elevated brows and a smile of
comprehension upon her face.

"Or-tis," she repeated.

"Now, I understand, my Jemadav," I said, "and I am commencing to have some
slight conception of the time that must have elapsed since I first landed
within Va-nah, for even since our escape from the Va-gas, Orthis has had time
to discover the Kalkars and ingratiate himself among them, to conspire with
them for the overthrow of Laythe, and to manufacture explosives and shells
and the guns which are reducing Laythe this moment. Even had I not heard the
name, I might have guessed that it was Orthis, for it is all so like
him—ingrate, traitor, cur."

"Go back to your master," she said to the messenger, "and tell him that
Nah-ee-lah, Jemadav of Laythe, would as leave mate with Ga-va-go the Va-ga as
with him, and that Laythe will be happier destroyed and her people wiped from
the face of Va-nah than ruled by such a beast. I have spoken. Go."

The fellow turned and left us, being accompanied from Nah-ee-lah's
presence by the guardsman who had fetched him, and whom Nah-ee-lah commanded
to return as soon as he had conducted the other outside the palace gates.
Then the girl turned to me:

"O, Julian, what shall I do? How may I combat those terrible forces that
you have brought to Va-nah from another world?"

I shook my head. "We, too, could manufacture both guns and ammunition to
combat him, but now we have not the time, since Laythe will be reduced to a
mass of ruins before we could even make a start. There is but one way,
Nah-ee-lah, and that is to send your people—every fighting man that you
can gather, and the women, too, if they can bear arms, out upon the plateau
in an effort to overwhelm the Kalkars and destroy the guns."

She stood and thought for a long time, and presently the officer of the
guard returned and halted before her, awaiting her commands. Slowly she
raised her head and looked at him.

"Go into the city," she said, "and gather every Laythean who can carry a
sword, a dagger, or a lance. Tell them to assemble on the inner terraces
below the castle, and that I, Nah-ee-lah their Jemadav, will address them.
The fate of Laythe rests with you. Go."

THE city was already in flames in many places, and though
the people fought valiantly to extinguish them, it seemed to me that they but
spread the more rapidly with each succeeding minute. And then, as suddenly as
it had commenced, the bombardment ceased. Nah-ee-lah and I crossed over to
the outer edge of the terrace to see if we could note any new movement by the
enemy, nor did we have long to wait. We saw a hundred ladders raised as if by
magic toward the lowest terrace, which rose but a bare two hundred feet above
the base of the city. The men who carried the ladders were not visible to us
when they came close to the base of the wall, but I guessed from the distant
glimpses that I caught of the ladders as they were rushed forward by running
men that here, again, Orthis' earthly knowledge and experience had come to
the assistance of the Kalkars, for I was sure that only some form of
extension ladder could be successfully used to reach even the lowest
terrace.

When I saw their intention I ran quickly down into the palace and out upon
the terrace before the gates, where the remainder of the guard were
stationed, and there I told them what was happening and urged them to hasten
the people to the lowest terrace to repulse the enemy before they had secured
a foothold upon the city. Then I returned to Nah-ee-lah, and together we
watched the outcome of the struggle, but almost from the first I realized
that Laythe was doomed, for before any of her defenders could reach the spot,
fully a thousand Kalkars had clambered to the terrace, and there they held
their own while other thousands ascended in safety to the city.

We saw the defenders rush forth to attack them, and for a moment, so
impetuous was their charge, I thought that I had been wrong and that the
Kalkars might yet be driven from Laythe. Fighting upon the lower outer
terrace far beneath us was a surging mass of shouting warriors. The Kalkars
were falling back before the impetuous onslaught of the Laytheans.

We saw the defenders rush forth to attack them.

"They have not the blood in their veins," whispered Nah-ee-lah, clinging
tightly to my arm. "One noble is worth ten of them. Watch them. Already are
they fleeing."

And so it seemed, and the rout of the Kalkars appeared almost assured, as
score upon score of them were hurled over the edge of the terrace, to fall
mangled and bleeding upon the ground hundreds of feet below.

But suddenly a new force seemed to be injected into the strife. I saw a
stream of Kalkars emerging above the edge of the lower terrace—new men
clambering up the ladders from the plateau below, and as they came they
shouted something which I could not understand, but the other Kalkars seemed
to take heart and made once more the semblance of a stand against the noble
Laytheans, and I saw one, the leader of the newcomers, force his way into the
battling throng. And then I saw him raise his hand above his head and hurl
something into the midst of the compact ranks of the Laytheans.

Instantly there was a terrific explosion and a great, bloody gap lay upon
the terrace where an instant before a hundred of the flower of the fighting
men of Laythe had been so gloriously defending their city and their
honor.

"Grenades," I exclaimed. "Hand grenades!"

"What is it, Julian? What is it that they are doing down there?" cried
Nah-ee-lah. "They are murdering my people."

"Yes, Nah-ee-lah, they are murdering your people, and well may Va-nah
curse the day that Earth Men set foot upon your world."

"I do not understand, Julian," she said.

"This is the work of Orthis," I said, "who has brought from Earth the
knowledge of diabolical engines of destruction. He first shelled the city
with what must have been nothing more than crude mortars, for it is
impossible that he has had the time to construct the machinery to build any
but the simplest of guns. Now his troops are hurling hand grenades among your
men. There is no chance, Nah-ee-lah, for the Laytheans to successfully pit
their primitive weapons against the modern agents of destruction which Orthis
has brought to bear against them. Laythe must surrender or be destroyed."

Nah-ee-lah laid her head upon my shoulder and wept softly. "Julian," she
said at last, "this is the end, then. Take me to the Jemadav, my mother,
please, and then you must go and make your peace with your fellow Earth Man.
It is not right that you, a stranger, who have done so much for me, should
fall with me and Laythe."

"The only peace I can make with Orthis, Nah-ee-lah," I replied, "is the
peace of death. Orthis and I may not live together again in the same
world."

She was crying very softly, sobbing upon my shoulder, and I put my arm
about her in an effort to quiet her.

"I have brought you only suffering and danger, and now death, Julian," she
said, "when you deserve naught but happiness and peace."

I suddenly felt very strange and my heart behaved wretchedly, so that when
I attempted to speak it pounded so that I could say nothing and my knees
shook beneath me. What had come over me? Could it be possible that already
Orthis had loosed his poison gas? Then, at last, I managed to gather myself
together.

"Nah-ee-lah," I said, "I do not fear death if you must die, and I do not
seek happiness except with you."

She looked up suddenly, her great, tear-dimmed eyes wide and gazing deep
into mine.

"You mean—Julian? You mean—?"

"I mean, Nah-ee-lah, that I love you," I replied, though I must have
stumbled through the words in a most ridiculous manner, so frightened was
I.

"Ah, Julian," she sighed, and put her arms about my neck.

"And you, Nah-ee-lah!" I exclaimed incredulously, as I crushed her to me,
"can it be that you return my love?"

"I have loved you always," she replied. "From the very first, almost
—way back when we were prisoners together in the No-vans' village. You
Earth Men must be very blind, my Julian. A Laythean would have known it at
once, for it seemed to me that upon a dozen occasions I almost avowed my love
openly to you."

"Alas, Nah-ee-lah! I must have been very blind, for I had not guessed
until this minute that you loved me."

"Now," she said, "I do not care what happens. We have one another, and if
we die together, doubtless we shall live together in a new incarnation."

"I hope so," I said, "but I should much rather be sure of it and live
together in this."

"And I, too, Julian, but that is impossible."

We were walking now through the corridors of the palace toward the chamber
occupied by her mother, but we did not find her there and Nah-ee-lah became
apprehensive as to her safety. Hurriedly we searched through other chambers
of the palace, until at last we came to the little audience chamber in which
Sagroth had been slain, and as we threw open the door I saw a sight that I
tried to hide from Nah-ee-lah's eyes as I drew her around in an effort to
force her back into the corridor. Possibly she guessed what impelled my
action, for she shook her head and murmured: "No, Julian; whatever it is I
must see it." And then she pushed her way gently past me, and we stood
together upon the threshold, looking at the harrowing sight which the
interior of the room displayed.

There were the bodies of the assassins Sagroth and I had slain, and the
dead Jemadar, too, precisely as he had fallen, while across his breast lay
the body of Nah-ee-lah's mother, a dagger self-thrust through her heart. For
just a moment Nah-ee-lah stood there looking at them in silence, as though in
prayer, and then she turned wearily away and left the chamber, closing the
door behind her. We walked on in silence for some time, ascending the
stairway back to the upper terrace. Upon the inner side, the flames were
spreading throughout the city, roaring like a mighty furnace and vomiting up
great clouds of smoke, for though the Laythean terraces are supported by
tremendous arches of masonry, yet there is much wood used in the interior
construction of the buildings, while the hangings and the furniture are all
inflammable.

"We had no chance to save the city," said Nah-ee-lah, with a sigh. "Our
people, called from their normal duties by the false Ko-tah, were leaderless.
The fire fighters, instead of being at their posts, were seeking the life of
their Jemadar. Unhappy day! Unhappy day!"

"You think they could have stopped the fire?" I asked.

"The little ponds, the rivulets, the waterfalls, the great public baths
and the tiny lakes that you see upon every terrace were all built with fire
protection in mind. It is easy to divert their waters and flood any tier of
buildings. Had my people been at their posts, this, at least, could not have
happened."

As we stood watching the flames we suddenly saw people emerging in great
numbers upon several of the lower terraces. They were evidently in terrified
flight, and then others appeared upon terraces above them—Kalkars who
hurled hand grenades amongst the Laytheans beneath them. Men, women, and
children ran hither and thither, shrieking and crying and seeking for
shelter, but from the buildings behind them, rushing them outward upon the
terraces, came other Kalkars with hand grenades. The fires hemmed the people
of Laythe upon either side and the Kalkars attacked them from the rear and
from above. The weaker fell and were trodden to death, and I saw scores fall
upon their own lances or drive daggers into the hearts of their loved
ones.

The massacre spread rapidly around the circumference of the city and the
Kalkars drove the people from the upper terraces downward between the raging
fires which were increasing until the mouth of the great crater was filled
with roaring flames and smoke. In the occasional gaps we could catch glimpses
of the holocaust beneath us.

A sudden current of air rising from the crater lifted the smoke pall high
for a moment, revealing the entire circumference of the crater, the edge of
which was crowded with Laytheans. And then I saw a warrior from the opposite
side leap upon the surrounding wall that bordered the lower terrace at the
edge of the yawning crater. He turned and called aloud some message to his
fellows, and then wheeling, threw his arms above his head and leaped outward
into the yawning, bottomless abyss. Instantly the others seemed to be
inoculated with the infection of his mad act. A dozen men leaped to the wall
and dove head foremost into the crater. The thing spread slowly at first, and
then with the rapidity of a prairie fire, it ran around the entire circle of
the city. Women hurled their children in and then leaped after them. The
multitude fought one with another for a place upon the wall from which they
might cast themselves to death. It was a terrible—an awe-inspiring
sight.

Nah-ee-lah covered her eyes with her hands. "My poor people!" she cried.
"My poor people!" And far below her, by the thousands now, they were hurling
themselves into eternity, while above them the screaming Kalkars hurled hand
grenades among them and drove the remaining inhabitants of Laythe, terrace by
terrace, down toward the crater's rim.

Nah-ee-lah turned away. "Come, Julian," she said, "I cannot look, I cannot
look." And together we walked across the terrace to the outer side of the
city.

Almost directly beneath us upon the next terrace was a palace gate and as
we reached a point where we could see it, I was horrified to see that the
Kalkars had made their way up the outer terraces to the very palace walls.
The Jemadar's guard was standing there ready to defend the palace against the
invaders. The great stone gates would have held indefinitely against spears
and swords, but even the guardsmen must have guessed that their doom was
already sealed and that these gates, that had stood for ages, an ample
protection to the Jemadars of Laythe, were about to fall, as the Kalkars
halted fifty yards away, and from their ranks a single individual stepped
forth a few paces.

As my eyes alighted upon him I seized Nah-ee-lah's arm. "Orthis!" I cried.
"It is Orthis." At the same instant the man's eyes rose above the gates and
fell upon us. A nasty leer curled his lips as he recognized us.

"I come to claim my bride," he cried, in a voice that reached us easily,
"and to balance my account with you, at last," and he pointed a finger at
me.

In his right hand he held a large, cylindrical object, and as he ceased
speaking he hurled it at the gates precisely as a baseball pitcher pitches a
swift ball.

The missile struck squarely at the bottom of the gates. There was a
terrific explosion, and the great stone portals crumbled, shattered into a
thousand fragments. The last defense of the Empress of Laythe had fallen, and
with it there went down in bloody death at least half the remaining members
of her loyal guard.

Instantly the Kalkars rushed forward, hurling hand grenades among the
survivors of the guard.

Nah-ee-lah turned toward me and put her arms about my neck.

"Kiss me once more, Julian," she said, "and then the dagger."

"Never, never, Nah-ee-lah!" I cried. "I cannot do it."

"But I can!" she exclaimed, and drew her own from its sheath at her
hip.

I seized her wrist. "Not that, Nah-ee-lah!" I cried. "There must be some
other way." And then there came to me a mad inspiration. "The wings!" I
cried. "Where are they kept? The last of your people have been destroyed.
Duty no longer holds you here. Let us escape, even if it is only to frustrate
Orthis' plans and deny him the satisfaction of witnessing our death."

"But, where can we go?" she asked.

"We may at least choose our own manner of death," I replied, "far from
Laythe and far from the eyes of an enemy who would gloat over our
undoing."

"You are right, Julian. We still have a little time, for I doubt if Orthis
or his Kalkars can quickly find the stairway leading to this terrace." And
then she led me quickly to one of the many towers that rise above the palace.
Entering it, we ascended a spiral staircase to a large chamber at the summit
of the tower. Here were kept the imperial wings. I fastened Nah-ee-lah's to
her and she helped me with mine, and then from the pinnacle of the tower we
arose above the burning city of Laythe and flew rapidly toward the distant
lowlands and the sea. It was in my mind to search out, if possible, the
location of the Barsoom, for I still entertained the mad hope that my
companions yet lived—if I did, why not they?

From the pinnacle of the tower we arose above the
burning city of Laythe.

The heat above the city was almost unendurable and the smoke suffocating,
yet we passed through it, so that almost immediately we were hidden from the
view of that portion of the palace from which we had arisen, with the result
that when Orthis and his Kalkars finally found their way to the upper
terrace, as I have no doubt they did, we had disappeared—whither they
could not know.

We flew and drifted with the wind across the mountainous country toward
the plains and the sea, it being my intention upon reaching the latter to
follow the coast line until I came to a river marked by an island at its
mouth. From that point I knew that I could reach the spot where the
Barsoom had landed.

Our long flight must have covered a considerable period of time, since it
was necessary for us to alight and rest many times and to search for food. We
met, fortunately, with no mishaps, and upon the several occasions when we
were discovered by roving bands of Va-gas we were able to soar far aloft and
escape them easily. We came at length, however, to the sea, the coast of
which I followed to the left, but though we passed the mouths of many rivers,
I discovered none that precisely answered the description of that which I
sought.

It was borne in upon me at last that our quest was futile, but where we
were to find a haven of safety neither of us could guess. The gas in our bags
was losing its buoyancy and we had no means wherewith to replenish it. It
would still maintain us for a short time, but how long neither of us knew,
other than that it had not nearly the buoyancy that it originally
possessed.

Off the coast we had seen islands almost continuously and I suggested to
Nah-ee-lah that we try to discover one upon which grew the fruits and nuts
and vegetables necessary for our subsistence, and where we might also have a
constant supply of fresh water.

I discovered that Nah-ee-lah knew little about these islands, practically
nothing in fact, not even as to whether they were inhabited; but we
determined to explore one, and to this end we selected an island of
considerable extent that lay about ten miles off shore. We reached it without
difficulty and circled slowly above it, scrutinizing its entire area
carefully. About half of it was quite hilly, but the balance was rolling and
comparatively level. We discovered three streams and two small lakes upon it,
and an almost riotous profusion of vegetable growth, but nowhere did we
discern the slightest indication that it was inhabited. And so at last,
feeling secure, we made our landing upon the plain, close to the beach.

It was a beautiful spot, a veritable Garden of Eden, where we two might
have passed the remainder of our lives in peace and security, for though we
later explored it carefully, we found not the slightest evidence that it had
ever known the foot of man.

Together we built a snug shelter against the storms. Together we hunted
for food, and during our long periods of idleness we lay upon the soft sward
beside the beach, and to pass the time away, I taught Nah-ee-lah my own
language.

It was a lazy, indolent, happy life that we spent upon this enchanted
isle, and yet, though we were happy in our love, each of us felt the futility
of our existence, where our lives must be spent in useless idleness.

We had, however, given up definitely hope for any other form of existence.
And thus we were lying one time, as was our wont after eating, stretched in
luxurious ease upon our backs on the soft lunar grasses, I with my eyes
closed, when Nah-ee-lah suddenly grasped me by the arm.

"Julian," she cried, "what is it? Look!"

I opened my eyes, to find her sitting up and gazing into the sky toward
the mainland, a slim forefinger indicating the direction of the object that
had attracted her attention and aroused her surprised interest.

As my eyes rested upon the thing her pointing finger indicated, I leaped
to my feet with an exclamation of incredulity, for there, sailing parallel
with the coast at an altitude of not more than a thousand feet, was a ship,
the lines of which I knew as I had known my mother's face. It was the
Barsoom.

Grasping Nah-ee-lah by the arm, I dragged her to her feet. "Come, quick,
Nah-ee-lah!" I cried, and urged her rapidly toward our hut, where we had
stored the wings and the gas bags which we had never thought to use again,
yet protected carefully, though why we knew not.

There was still gas in the bags—enough to support us in the air,
with the assistance of our wings, but to fly thus for long distances would
have been most fatiguing, and there was even a question as to whether we
could cross the ten miles of sea that lay between us and the mainland; yet I
was determined to attempt it. Hastily we donned the wings and bags, and
rising together, flapped slowly in the direction of the mainland.

The Barsoom was cruising slowly along a line that would cross ours
before we could reach the shore, but I hoped that they would sight us and
investigate.

We flew as rapidly as I dared, for I could take no chances upon exhausting
Nah-ee-lah, knowing that it would be absolutely impossible for me to support
her weight and my own, with our depleted gas bags. There was no way in which
I could signal to the Barsoom. We must simply fly toward her. That was
the best that we could do, and finally, try though we would, I realized that
we should be too late to intercept her and that unless they saw us and
changed their course, we should not come close enough to hail them. To see my
friends passing so near, and yet to be unable to apprise them of my presence
filled me with melancholy. Not one of the many vicissitudes and dangers
through which I had passed since I left Earth depressed me more than the
sight of the Barsoom forging slowly past us without speaking. I saw
her change her course then and move inland still further from us, and I could
not but dwell upon our unhappy condition, since now we might never again be
able to reach the safety of our island, there being even a question as to
whether the gas bags would support us to the mainland.

They did, however, and there we alighted and rested, while the
Barsoom sailed out of sight toward the mountains.

"I shall not give it up, Nah-ee-lah," I cried. "I am going to follow the
Barsoom until we find it, or until we die in the attempt. I doubt if
we ever can reach the island again, but we can make short flights here on
land, and by so doing, we may overtake my ship and my companions."

After resting for a short time, we arose again, and when we were above the
trees I saw the Barsoom far in the distance, and again it was
circling, this time toward the left, so we altered our course and flew after
it. But presently we realized that it was making a great circle and hope
renewed within our breasts, giving us the strength to fly on and on, though
we were forced to come down often for brief rests. As we neared the ship we
saw that the circles were growing smaller, but it was not until we were
within about three miles of her that I realized that she was circling the
mouth of a great crater, the walls of which rose several hundred feet above
the surrounding country. We had been forced to land again to rest, when there
flashed upon my mind a sudden realization of the purpose of the maneuvers of
the Barsoom—she was investigating the crater, preparatory to an
attempt to pass through it into outer space and seek to return to Earth
again.

As this thought impinged upon my brain, a wave of almost hopeless horror
overwhelmed me as I thought of being definitely left forever by my companions
and that by but a few brief minutes. Nah-ee-lah was to be robbed of life and
happiness and peace, for at that instant the hull of the Barsoom
dropped beneath the rim of the crater and disappeared from our view.

Rising quickly with Nah-ee-lah, I flew as rapidly as my tired muscles and
exhausted gas bag would permit toward the rim of the crater. In my heart of
hearts I knew that I should be too late, for once they had decided to make
the attempt, the ship would drop like a plummet into the depths, and by the
time I reached the mouth of the abyss it would be lost to my view
forever.

And yet I struggled on, my lungs almost bursting from the exertion of my
mad efforts toward speed. Nah-ee-lah trailed far behind, for if either of us
could reach the Barsoom in time we should both be saved, and I could
fly faster than Nah-ee-lah; otherwise, I should never have separated myself
from her by so much as a hundred yards.

Though my lungs were pumping like bellows, I venture to say that my heart
stood still for several seconds before I topped the crater's rim.

At the same instant that I expected the last vestige of my hopes to be
dashed to pieces irrevocably and forever, I crossed the rim and beheld the
Barsoom not twenty feet below me, just over the edge of the abyss, and
upon her deck stood West and Jay and Norton.

As I came into view directly above them, West whipped out his revolver and
leveled it at me, but the instant that his finger pressed the trigger Norton
sprang forward and struck his hand aside.

"My God, sir!" I heard the boy cry, "it is the Captain." And then they all
recognized me, and an instant later I almost collapsed as I fell to the deck
of my beloved ship.

My first thought was of Nah-ee-lah, and at my direction the Barsoom
rose swiftly and moved to meet her.

"Great Scott!" cried my guest, leaping to his feet and looking out of the
stateroom window, "I had no idea that I had kept you up all night. Here we
are in Paris already."

"But the rest of your story," I cried. "You have not finished it, I know.
Last night, as you were watching them celebrating in the Blue Room, you made
a remark which led me to believe that some terrible calamity threatened the
world."

"It does," he said, "and that was what I meant to tell you about, but this
story of the third incarnation of which I am conscious was necessary to an
understanding of how the great catastrophe overwhelmed the people of the
earth."

"But, did you reach Earth again?" I demanded.

"Yes," he said, "in the year 2036. I had been ten years within Va-nah, but
did not know whether it was ten months or a century until we landed upon
Earth."

He smiled then. "You notice that I still say I. It is sometimes difficult
for me to recall which incarnation I am in. Perhaps it will be clearer to you
if I say Julian 5th returned to Earth in 2036, and in the same year his son,
Julian 6th, was born to his wife, Nah-ee-lah the Moon Maid."

"But how could he return to Earth in the disabled Barsoom?"

"Ah," he said, "that raises a point that was of great interest to Julian
5th. After he regained the Barsoom, naturally one of the first
questions he asked was as to the condition of the ship and their intentions,
and when he learned that they had, in reality, been intending to pass through
the crater toward the Earth he questioned them further and discovered that it
was the young ensign, Norton, who had repaired the engine, having been able
to do it by information that he had gleaned from Orthis, after winning the
latter's friendship. Thus was explained the intimacy between the two, which
Julian 5th had so deplored, but which he now saw that young Norton had
encouraged for a patriotic purpose."

"We are docked now and I must be going. Thank you for your hospitality and
for your generous interest," and he held out his hand toward me.

"But the story of Julian 9th," I insisted, "am I never to hear that?"

"If we meet again, yes," he promised, with a smile.

"I shall hold you to it," I told him.

"If we meet again," he repeated, and departed, closing the stateroom door
after him.